THE FORTUNE MEN

Narrator Hugh Quarshie is a gifted mimic. His Somali-inflected English and his reading of Arabic give verisimilitude to Mahood Mattan. Quarshie narrates at a measured pace that provides this sad historical novel with a sense of inevitability. Quarshie delivers Welsh, Jamaican, and English accents well and has an ability to place the listener inside the characters' minds. Best of all, his performance gives dignity to the falsely accused illiterate petty criminal who is convicted of murder and later hanged. The story is based on real events in Cardiff, Wales, in 1952. It took decades for Mattan's name to be cleared, and his death remains a racist blot on British jurisprudence. Author Mohamed has vividly reimagined this story, and it comes alive in this audiobook. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2022]