When We Speak of Nothing

by Olumide Popoola Narrated by Ben Onwukwe

Overview

Best mates Karl and Abu are both 17 and live near King's Cross. It's 2011 and racial tensions are set to explode across London. Abu is infatuated with gorgeous classmate Nalini but dares not speak to her. Meanwhile, Karl is the target of the local `wannabe' thugs just for being different.
When Karl finds out his father lives in Nigeria, he travels to Port Harcourt to escape the sound and fury of London, and connect with a Dad he's never known. Rejected on arrival, Karl befriends Nakale, an activist who wants to expose the ecocide in the Niger Delta to the world. Increasingly distant from happenings in London, Karl falls headlong for Nakale's feisty cousin, Janoma.
Meanwhile, the murder of Mark Duggan triggers a full-scale riot in London. Abu finds himself caught up in its midst, leading to a tragedy that forces Karl to race back home.
When We Speak of Nothing launches a powerful new talent. The stream of consciousness prose, peppered with contemporary slang, captures what it means to be young, black and queer in London and Port Harcourt. If grime music were a novel, it would be this.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

‘This smart novel with electric prose tells us what it means to be young, black and queer in London.’ Elle Magazine ‘Refreshingly original, energetic and ambitious storytelling. Popoola joins the ranks of the best of the powerful new voices invigorating both British and African fiction.’ Bernardine Evaristo, author of Mr Loverman

Kirkus Reviews

2018-03-20
Two black London-based teen boys navigate the complexities of racism, class differences, and identity in this intricate coming-of-age tale.Abu and Karl are twinlike in appearance, but their lives could not be more different. While Abu hails from a stable two-parent home, Karl's family life is shrouded in mystery, so he spends most of his time as an adopted son within Abu's family. Together, the boys survive bullies, being beaten up, discrimination, and discovering sexuality. Life for both teens changes irreparably when Karl finds a letter addressed to his mother from an uncle whom he never knew. After discovering that his father is alive and living in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Karl leaves London with his uncle to visit Africa and discover his family and heritage. Popoola's (Breach, 2016, etc.) novel has all the requisite threads for a completely engrossing book, but so much is crammed into its pages that the story feels like a mess of tangles rather than a neatly stitched product. The reader barely gets to know Karl before he is off to Africa—a decision so rushed that it is sapped of dramatic heft—and so reader investment in his problems suffers. The stream-of-consciousness narration jars the reader out of the narrative and prevents the characters from becoming fully formed people as opposed to character studies.An ambitious novel that attempts to explore important subjects about race and identity in the modern world. (Fiction 14-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176479072
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	05/04/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos