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Assembly Audiobook
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Publisher Description
One woman. One day. One decision. A blistering, fearless, and unforgettable literary debut
Come of age in the credit crunch. Be civil in a hostile environment. Go to college, get an education, start a career. Do all the right things. Buy an apartment. Buy art. Buy a sort of happiness. But above all, keep your head down. Keep quiet. And keep going.
The narrator of Assembly is a black British woman. She is preparing to attend a lavish garden party at her boyfriend’s family estate, set deep in the English countryside. At the same time, she is considering the carefully assembled pieces of herself. As the minutes tick down and the future beckons, she can’t escape the question: is it time to take it all apart?
Assembly is a story about the stories we live within – those of race and class, safety and freedom, winners and losers. And it is about one woman daring to take control of her own story, even at the cost of her life. With a steely, unfaltering gaze, Natasha Brown dismantles the mythology of whiteness, lining up the debris in a neat row and walking away.
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“The whisper-soft voice of narrator Pippa Bennett–Warner draws listeners into this story…Bennett–Warner captures the poetic cadence of the introspective text as the woman ponders colleagues’ reactions to her…Bennett–Warner wisely tones down her portrayals of secondary characters, keeping listeners’ attention fully on the main character's thoughts and lived experiences.”
— AudioFile
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“Has all the jagged clarity of a shard of broken glass. A piercing meditation on identity and race in contemporary Britain.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
“Packs an oversized punch. A nuanced, form-redefining exploration on class, work, gender and race, Brown’s debut has already garnered mass hype from the industry.”
— Harper’s Bazaar -
“As well as being a shrewd exploration of the psychological toll of generational trauma and colonial legacies, the book is also, thanks to its biting humor, a broad criticism of the absurdity of contemporary life.”
— New Yorker -
“Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway meets Claudia Rankine’s Citizen…As breathtakingly graceful as it is mercilessly true.”
— Olivia Sudjic, author of Sympathy
Awards
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An Oprah Magazine Pick of Best Books of Fall
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A Washington Post Pick of the Month
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An Essence Magazine Pick of Fall Books
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A Town & Country Magazine Pick for Fall
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A Ms. Magazine Pick of the Month
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An Entertainment Weekly Pick of the Month's Best Books
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A PopSugar Pick for September
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A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Book of 2021
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About Natasha Brown
Natasha Brown has spent a decade working in financial services, after studying Maths at Cambridge University. She developed Assembly after receiving a 2019 London Writers Award in the literary fiction category.
About Pippa Bennett-Warner
Pippa Bennett-Warner is a voice talent and Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator.