A MINOR CHORUS

Jesse Nobess gives a contemplative performance of this genre-defying debut novel from poet Billy-Ray Belcourt. The unnamed narrator is a queer Cree PhD student, who, fed up with the confines of academia, abandons his dissertation to return to his rural hometown to write a novel. Nobess's deliberate narration often sounds as if he's working something out as he speaks. It's fitting because that's exactly what the narrator is doing--working through ideas, feelings, and theories as he talks with old friends, neighbors, and family. Much of the novel sounds like an extended poem--and Nobess highlights the beauty of the words, letting the prose take center stage. Creative, moving, inventive, and powerful, this audiobook is a must-listen. L.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2023]