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Explore the diverse voices of Black literature with our Book Club. Join us for enriching discussions and vibrant stories that celebrate the Black experience.
Please join me at Shepherd Park Neighborhood Library on Monday, January 27, 2025 at 6:30 pm for the next meeting of the Black Voices Book Club. We will discuss Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. This book is available in large print, ebook, and eaudiobook formats. There are three copies available to check out at Shepherd Park, and a few more should be arriving in transit soon.
This novel is set in a dystopian, yet familiar present in which a private consortium called Criminal Action Penal Entertainment produces duels to the death between convicted murderers before packed arenas and TV cameras. CAPE’s two most charismatic and successful gladiators are Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker. The lovers are the cornerstone of CAPE's popular, highly-controversial program in America's increasingly profitable private prison industry in which gladiators and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom. Protestors show up outside every CAPE death match to protest that law and the whole penal system in an all-out movement to repeal it. Meanwhile, CAPE’s corporate masters tighten their hold on the status quo (and keep their TV ratings up) as Loretta struggles to help Staxxx and other gladiators achieve relative dignity within their imprisonment.
About the Author
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was named one of "5 under 35 Authors" by the National Book Foundation in 2018. Chain-Gang All-Stars was shortlisted for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction and The New York Times named it one of the ten best books of 2023. His book of short stories, Friday Black, was published ion 2018 and was included on the long list for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction.
Stay tuned for news about other books the club will read in 2025, including 54 Miles by Leonard Pitts. We will also celebrate the life of civil rights activist Pauli Murray, who died 40 years ago in 1985.
Please don't hesitate to suggest titles for us to read next year!
