A PARTICULAR KIND OF BLACK MAN

Narrator Prentice Onayemi's soft tones and introspective style highlight the inner turmoil and confusion felt by Tunde Akinola, a first-generation Nigerian-American boy who is trying to make sense of his fractured world. Throughout his childhood, Tunde struggles with loneliness, family instability, and establishing a sense of self, just as his immigrant father struggles to find work that suits his skills and respects his ethnicity. Onayemi's delivery captures Tunde's changing perspective as the boy matures from a 6-year-old who is sometimes afraid of his schizophrenic mother, to an adolescent who is trying to get used to a new mother and stepbrothers, and to a 17-year-old college freshman who is worried about his own mental health. Onayemi successfully employs various accents to distinguish the varied English-language skills of Tunde's family. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2019]