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A Different Drummer cover art

A Different Drummer

By: William Melvin Kelley
Narrated by: Greg Lockett, Nneka Okoye
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Summary

In 1962, aged just 24, William Melvin Kelley's debut novel, A Different Drummer, earned him critical comparisons to James Baldwin and William Faulkner. Fifty-five years later, author and journalist Kathryn Schulz happened upon the novel serendipitously and was inspired to write the New Yorker article 'The Lost Giant of American Literature', included as a foreword to this edition.  

June, 1957. One afternoon, in the backwater town of Sutton, a young black farmer by the name of Tucker Caliban matter-of-factly throws salt on his field, shoots his horse and livestock, sets fire to his house and departs the southern state. And thereafter, the entire African American population leave with him.  

The reaction that follows is told across a dozen chapters, each from the perspective of a different white townsperson. These are boys, girls, men and women, either liberal or conservative, bigoted or sympathetic - yet all of whom are grappling with this spontaneous, collective rejection of subordination.  

A lost masterpiece republished for 2018, A Different Drummer is for listeners who have been waiting for the next rediscovered classic.  
©2019 The Estate of William Melvin Kelley (P)2019 Quercus Editions Limited
African American Classics Historical Fiction United States
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Profile Image for Roland McMorran

Superb writing

Brilliant multi faceted perspectives, gripping story telling, a valuable listen/read by a master literary artist

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