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A Tall History of Sugar Audiobook
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A Tall History of Sugar tells the story of Moshe Fisher, a man who was "born without skin," so that no one is able to tell what race he belongs to; and Arrienne Christie, his quixotic soul mate who makes it her duty in life to protect Moshe from the social and emotional consequences of his strange appearance.
The narrative begins with Moshe's birth in the late 1950s, four years before Jamaica's independence from colonial rule, and ends in the era of what Forbes calls "the fall of empire," the era of Brexit and Donald Trump. The historical trajectory layers but never overwhelms the scintillating love story as the pair fight to establish their own view of loving, against the moral force of the colonial "plantation" and its legacies that continue to affect their lives and the lives of those around them.
Written in lyrical, luminous prose that spans the range of Jamaican Englishes, this remarkable story follows the couple's mysterious love affair from childhood to adulthood, from the haunted environs of rural Jamaica to the city of Kingston, and then to England—another haunted locale in Forbes's rendition.
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“It is difficult to imagine that this extraordinary story could be even better, but Robin Miles’s sublime narration accomplishes that feat…Miles skillfully conveys the story’s poetic language and folktale atmosphere, which remain firmly grounded in historical detail. Her rendering of the Jamaican–Creole patois and the Queen’s English are a pleasure to hear. Fans of Caribbean literature will sink into this transporting wonder of an audiobook. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
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“A gift for grown-up fans of fairy tales and those who love fiction that metes out hard and surprising truths. Forbes’s writing combines the gale-force imagination of Margaret Atwood with the lyrical pointillism of Toni Morrison.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“The book is a journey—the characters so vivid, their depictions so intimate, that the skin of the pages themselves almost pulse beneath the reader’s fingers. A powerful journey into the souls of two lovers, two countries, and the people caught in the wakes of empires.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Awards
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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A Booklist Pick of the Week
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A Publishers Weekly Pick for Fall
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A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice
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About Curdella Forbes
Curdella Forbes is a Jamaican writer who lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, and teaches at Howard University.
About Robin Miles
Robin Miles, named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, has twice won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, an Audie Award for directing, and many Earphones Awards. Her film and television acting credits include The Last Days of Disco, Primary Colors, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order, New York Undercover, National Geographic’s Tales from the Wild, All My Children, and One Life to Live. She regularly gives seminars to members of SAG and AFTRA actors’ unions, and in 2005 she started Narration Arts Workshop in New York City, offering audiobook recording classes and coaching. She holds a BA degree in theater studies from Yale University, an MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama, and a certificate from the British American Drama Academy in England.