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Lote
- Jacaranda Twenty in 2020
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh, Zawe Ashton, Aurora Burghart
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
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Lote
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Summary
Part of the groundbreaking #TwentyIn2020 programme for Black British writing, Lote is an exquisite, genre-bending novel set in Scotland.
Lush and frothy, incisive and witty, Shola von Reinhold’s decadent queer literary debut immerses readers in the pursuit of aesthetics and beauty, while interrogating the removal and obscurement of Black figures from history.
Solitary Mathilda has long been enamored with the ‘Bright Young Things’ of the 20s, and throughout her life, her attempts at reinvention have mirrored their extravagance and artfulness. After discovering a photograph of the forgotten Black modernist poet Hermia Druitt, who ran in the same circles as the Bright Young Things that she adores, Mathilda becomes transfixed and resolves to learn as much as she can about the mysterious figure. Her search brings her to a peculiar artists’ residency in Dun, a small European town Hermia was known to have lived in during the 30s. The artists’ residency throws her deeper into a lattice of secrets and secret societies that takes hold of her aesthetic imagination, but will she be able to break the thrall of her Transfixions?
From champagne theft and Black Modernisms, to art sabotage, alchemy and lotus-eating proto-luxury communist cults, Mathilda’s journey through modes of aesthetic expression guides her to truth and the convoluted ways it is made and obscured.
#TwentyIn2020 is Jacaranda Books' historical, groundbreaking initiative to publish 20 Black British writers in one year. The works include fiction, nonfiction and poetry, with the aim of normalising the presence of diverse literature by talented Black writers in the UK.
The Pride List of Queer Storytelling
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What listeners say about Lote
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert
- 27-10-21
SUPERB
A truly exquisite read and insight into the imagination of a genius author & starlet !!! A must read
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Musebeliever
- 22-06-22
Masterpiece
This book was so enthralling to me that I bought the audiobook to keep reading it while I was on the move. The writing is so elegant and creative that I often felt shivers while reading it. The author tackles the erasure of Black artists and entwines this topic to the main character's history with maestria.
The narrator does a stunning job.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- annarose
- 20-01-22
Fascinating
Took me a while to get into but I loved the voice of the narrator and its a really interesting exploration of themes
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 27-07-22
This is a very unusual book
Everyone who reads this book is going to take something different from it. it's a novel about how Bame people are often erased from pre windrush British history. In this case focusing on the structural racism found within art world sometimes. I also think it explores the use of language and how it can exclude and 'other' people at times.
Part history of esthetics part thriller, part poetry. There is also a Queer and trippy strand to the narrative. It all comes together into a rather beautiful whole.
I think it's the kind of novel you have to give yourself to rather than understand everything all the time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nychenda
- 18-02-22
Absolutely magnificent!!!
This wonderful piece of queer black literature has awakened my inner aesthete and made me feel less alone. For that, I remain eternally grateful
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Samuel
- 26-11-21
Difficult to get into
It took me about 2/3 of the book to get into the story and develop at least a small emotional connection to the characters. This wasn't helped by the aloofness of the main character and her disdain for most things and people in her life, which is further highlighted by the narrators' delivery of the story. In the end I found it worthwhile and might listen to it again (if I can manage to get through the first few hours). The novel has also made me interested in The Bright Young Things and Black British artists which I know way too little about, so thanks to the author for highlighting this knowledge gap for me.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rosie
- 08-04-22
Mesmerising, unexpected, involved
I love this book. I love all the narrators, I love the story, I love the characters, I love the ideas in it. It is long and surprising and full of actual history. If you're interested in art, the experiences of people racialised as black throughout history, and early 20th century literary and artistic celebrities, then you'll love this book. If not, but you love to get immersed in a life story that is entirely unexpected and full of vivid characters, then you'll still love it. I often stopped the story to research historical figures mentioned, which added to the enjoyment. I never had any clue where the story was headed but kind of felt like it would go on forever in its rambling unfolding.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Lady Essex
- 30-10-23
What an absolute pile of self aggrandising excrement
Zawe Ashton, as ever, does the best of a bad job.
Shola von Rheinhold’s writing reminds me of the Emperor’s New Clothes. Let’s hope they/them have a plentiful supply of wool to keep pulling over they/them’s woke and gullible readerships’ eyes 👀
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 09-06-20
Elitist non book
Self involved and aimless; I felt myself waiting for the characters to really develop, for some meaningful plot. Only redeeming factors are a couple of relevant and though provoking comments concerning the depiction and opportunities of black artists, but such need not be buried in this drivel. Massive lack of empathy within the characterisation, I found it difficult to be convinced by them. 2d.
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1 person found this helpful