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Billy

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Featured on the Graham Norton Book Club.

Discover Albert French's haunting first novel: a story of racial injustice, as unsentimental as it is heartbreaking.

The tale of Billy Lee Turner, a 10-year-old boy convicted of the murder of a white girl in Mississippi in 1937, illuminates the monstrous face of racism in America with harrowing clarity and power. Narrated in the rich accents of the American South, Billy's story is told amid the picking fields and town streets, the heat, dust and poverty of the region in the time of the Depression.

©1967 Albert French (P)2021 Penguin Audio African American Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Small Town & Rural United States World Literature

Critic reviews

"Billy is a book that will stay with me in my dreams." (Tim O'Brien author of The Things They Carried)
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Thank you to the Graham Norton Book Club I stumbled on this Book. This is a heart-rending story. Fantastically performed by Vaugh Johseph.
I can't believe that Mr Albert French is not writing any more, I would love to read more from him.

Holly Smoke!!

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The story is one told so many times, but the brevity of the writing style added pathos to this tale. It almost exaggerated Billy's plight. The narration was perfect, any other narrator would not have done this story justice at all. I'd recommend this book to anyone.

A memorable book.

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This is a beautiful, sad, thought provoking story that is so well written that it draws you in to feel the pain and torment of the characters. This little boy’s life determined in so many ways because of the racist society he was born into.
The emotion in the narrators voice made the experience of listening so real that I was totally encompassed, and whilst it’s a hard listen at times, it’s also enjoyable and very worthwhile.
I’m hoping that Vaughn Johseph will be able to bring Albert French’s other book ‘Cinder’ to life soon too!

Amazing narration, perfect for this story!

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Powerful story of innocence, a mothers love, death and a graphic glimpse of history. Such an amazing read. Vaughan Johseph read it beautifully with such emotion. This book should be read in schools.

Heart reaching.

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Found this through the Graham Norton book club. Be prepared to cry - a lot.

Heartbreaking

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