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The Thing Around Your Neck Audiobook
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(3.01) - 3,042 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie burst onto the literary scene with her remarkable debut novel, Purple Hibiscus, which critics hailed as “one of the best novels to come out of Africa in years” (Baltimore Sun), with “prose as lush as the Nigerian landscape that it powerfully evokes” (The Boston Globe); The Washington Post called her “the twenty-first-century daughter of Chinua Achebe.” Her award-winning Half of a Yellow Sun became an instant classic upon its publication three years later, once again putting her tremendous gifts—graceful storytelling, knowing compassion, and fierce insight into her characters’ hearts—on display. Now, in her most intimate and seamlessly crafted work to date, Adichie turns her penetrating eye on not only Nigeria but America, in twelve dazzling stories that explore the ties that bind men and women, parents and children, Africa and the United States. In “A Private Experience,” a medical student hides from a violent riot with a poor Muslim woman whose dignity and faith force her to confront the realities and fears she’s been pushing away. In “Tomorrow is Too Far,” a woman unlocks the devastating secret that surrounds her brother’s death. The young mother at the center of “Imitation” finds her comfortable life in Philadelphia threatened when she learns that her husband has moved his mistress into their Lagos home. And the title story depicts the choking loneliness of a Nigerian girl who moves to an America that turns out to be nothing like the country she expected; though falling in love brings her desires nearly within reach, a death in her homeland forces her to reexamine them. Searing and profound, suffused with beauty, sorrow, and longing, these stories map, with Adichie’s signature emotional wisdom, the collision of two cultures and the deeply human struggle to reconcile them. The Thing Around Your Neck is a resounding confirmation of the prodigious literary powers of one of our most essential writers.
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"This is the strongest book I have read in years. It is impossible to read without having your world rearranged. I particularly liked the stories "The Headstrong Historian" and "Jumping Monkey Hill" which should be required reading. The thing that gives these stories such strength is that the people are not just victims in terrible circumstances. Instead a woman is portrayed as strong and standing up and saying "No more, enough and walking away." This book tells it like it is for some of today's Nigerians. If only those who should pay attention would get the message."
— Patti (5 out of 5 stars)
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“Narrator Adjoa Andoh spins the tales in the voices of the main characters, allowing the listener to envision them and travel with them through their life stories. Andoh modulates her voice so that character changes are evident while maintaining the realism of the scenes.”
— AudioFile -
“Nuanced and rousing.”
— Vogue
Awards
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People Pick of the Week
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Among shortlisted titles for John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, 2009
The Thing Around Your Neck Listener Reviews
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" The stories are all about Nigerians. Some are immigrants to other places, some have returned to Nigeria and some never left. I enjoyed the diversity of the stories -joy, sorrow, fun, style - and would recommend it. I have not read her novel, but would like to check it out. "
— kathryn, 1/22/2014 -
" I love Adichie's prose and I thoroughly enjoyed both her novels. I had read a couple of stories on New Yorker site before I read the book. Most of the stories here are about the Nigerians in US experience. Among the ones set in Nigeria one is called "The American Embassy" where the protagonist is in queue to get her US visa. I quite enjoyed most of the stories particularly Ghosts, Jumping Monkey Hill, Cell One & A Private Experience. Looking forward to her Novel Americanah. "
— Pravesh, 1/21/2014 -
" Collection of short stories about Nigerian women by a Nigerian woman. The sort of writing thats so palpable and real that it twists up your stomach like a pretzel and wont let you put it down. I think I finished it in under 24 hours. "
— Jac, 1/7/2014 -
" I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. It was fascinating to delve briefly into the lives of Nigerian people and their good and hard times. I enjoyed how Adichie really brought her characters to life even in such a short amount of space. I also enjoyed how she evoked such strong emotions without going to far and making it seem fake. "
— Xarah, 1/2/2014 -
" I loved this book. Her writing is so clean and straightforward, while still getting to the heart of her characters. She crosses the ocean, binding the American and African experience. It takes an exceptional writer to use such simple language and still make the stories rich with imagery. "
— Cate, 12/30/2013 -
" All beautiful, if heartbreaking stories. This collection reminds me of Jhumpa Lahiri's writing, in the way that Adichie evokes the emotional dissonance created when one is transplanted to a new country. "
— Pamela, 12/19/2013 -
" One of the best short story books I have ever read. A treasure. "
— Christina, 12/13/2013 -
" Outstanding! A must read! I've met children just like these. Don't believe that it is an exaggeration! "
— Deborah, 12/7/2013 -
" ENjoying this thoroughly. "
— Robin, 10/8/2013 -
" Enjoyed the short story glimpse of Nigeria ..have yet to read her other books. I want to read more African writers. I'll read Purple Hibiscus this summer. "
— Gerri, 4/29/2013 -
" Enlightening in many repects. "
— Ann, 3/18/2013 -
" Some really good stories, but too depressing for me. "
— Mary, 1/6/2013 -
" I definitely like her novels better. "
— Lisa, 12/1/2012 -
" incredibly beautiful, insightful, and enlightening short stories. just like Half of a Yellow Sun, I couldn't put this one down. "
— Shanti, 11/11/2012 -
" This was riveting, haunting and beautifully told. "
— Kristine, 10/7/2012 -
" It started out slow but was wonderful. "
— Teresa, 9/14/2012 -
" Chimamanda is an amazing story teller!! "
— Kiki, 4/4/2012 -
" OK-ish! "
— Ejiro, 1/26/2012 -
" The best part of each of these short stories is how many of us can relate to the lead character in one or more ways. "
— Nubian, 1/14/2012 -
" wonderful. a beautifully and flexibly written set of short stories set in Nigeria or relating principally to Nigerians. very varied topics and styles. i must dig out more of her stuff. "
— Virginprune, 1/7/2012 -
" This was a disappointing book, especially after her terrific earlier novels. It is still worth reading. I liked the stories about Nigerians coming to the US. "
— Michael, 6/12/2011 -
" A gifted writer's twelve short stories who's characters invite you to see their joy, sadness, fear, desperation and hope as they collide between Nigerian and American culture. "
— Esther, 6/5/2011 -
" Chimamanda never disappoints - I am even more convinced of her amazing talent after reading this collection. Nearly every one of these short stories was my favorite. I highly recommend 'The Thing Around Your Neck' to all Chimamanda fans and particularly those who are yet to discover her magic. "
— Carolyne, 6/1/2011 -
" A collection of short stories about Nigerian men and women, at home and in America, written from a variety of perspectives, socio-economic classes, etc. "
— Cinderfox, 5/28/2011 -
" The author presents an interesting historical context on Nigeria as well as the Nigerian immigrant community in the US; however, her characters seem flat, especially when engaged in love affairs... "
— Anna, 5/15/2011 -
" I found this book thoroughly enjoyable. The Headstrong Historian is a must read from the collection. This is the first of author that I'be read, and I plan to read more. "
— Tionna, 5/14/2011 -
" incredibly beautiful, insightful, and enlightening short stories. just like Half of a Yellow Sun, I couldn't put this one down. "
— Shanti, 5/11/2011 -
" Great storyteller, I love her writing. These short stories are great, but some lacked a plot. The fact that they still threw a punch is a testament to what a great writer she is. Highly recommended; at the very least read The Headstrong Historian. "
— Shaddad83, 4/13/2011 -
" I believe this is Chimamanda Adichie at her crystallized best. The stories are sharp enough to cut. The first story, "Cell One," took my breath. These are stories of diaspora, longing, wry and trembling wit.<br/>Stories to read again and again, to savor. "
— Naomi, 4/3/2011 -
" Love this book! One of my all time favourites. Will read it again. And again. Love short stories! Aboslutely love how Chimamanda captures a different voice in each and every story. Beautiful! "
— Nandi, 3/28/2011 -
" Beautiful collection of stories. Loved every one of them. "
— Elana, 3/13/2011 -
" I missed transferring to the express train and then missed my stop reading this book on the subway. What I'm trying to say...is that this is an amazingly captivated collection of short stories! "
— vivian, 3/1/2011 -
" The stories in here about west africans who come to the US are really very good. Also liked the Biafra one cause it was character based. "
— Patti, 2/24/2011
About Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has had three books on the New York Times bestselling list. She grew up in Nigeria. Her work has been translated into thirty languages and has appeared in various publications, including the New Yorker. Her novel Half of a Yellow Sun won the Orange Broadband Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and it was a New York Times Notable Book and a People and Black Issues Book Review Best Book of the Year. Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. She is a recipient of a 2008 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.
About Adjoa Andoh
Adjoa Andoh is an Audie Award and Earphones Award–winning narrator and an actress of British film, television, stage, and radio. In 2022, she was awarded the AudioFile Golden Voice Award. She is known on the UK stage for lead roles at the RSC, the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre, and the Almeida Theatre, and she is a familiar face on British television. She made her Hollywood debut starring as Nelson Mandela’s chief of staff, Brenda Mazikubo, alongside Morgan Freeman as Mandela in Clint Eastwood’s Invictus.