The Talking Drum

By (author): Lisa Braxton

Winner, 2020 National Association of Black Journalists Outstanding Literary Award; Overall Winner, 2020 Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Award; Winner, 2021 IPPY Gold Medal for Urban Fiction; Finalist for the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards

Featured on Ms. Magazine‘s June 2020 Reads for the Rest of Us and Bustle‘s 23 Debut Books That Are Too Good To Ignore.

It is 1971. The fictional city of Bellport, Massachusetts, is in decline with an urban redevelopment project on the horizon expected to transform this dying factory town into a thriving economic center. This planned transformation has a profound effect on the residents who live in Bellport as their own personal transformations take place. Sydney Stallworth steps away from her fellowship and law studies at an elite university to support husband Malachi’s dream of opening a business in the heart of the black community of his hometown, Bellport.

For Omar Bassari, an immigrant from Senegal, Bellport is where he will establish his drumming career and the launching pad from which he will spread African culture across the world, while trying to hold onto his marriage. Della Tolliver has built a fragile sanctuary in Bellport for herself, boyfriend Kwamé Rodriguez, and daughter Jasmine, a troubled child prone to nightmares and outbursts.

Tensions rise as the demolition date moves closer, plans for gentrification are laid out, and the pace of suspicious fires picks up. The residents find themselves at odds with a political system manipulating their lives and question the future of their relationships.

The Talking Drum explores intra-racial, class, and cross-cultural tensions, along with the meaning of community and belonging. Examining the profound impact gentrification has on people in many neighborhoods, and the way in which being uprooted affects the fabric of their families, friendships, and emotional well-being, the novel not only focuses on the immigrant experience, but the way in which the immigrant/African American neighborhood interface leads to friction and tension. This book thus provides a springboard to important discussions on race and class differences, on the treatment of immigrants, as well as the government’s relationship and responsibility to society.

AUTHOR

Lisa Braxton

Lisa Braxton is a former newspaper reporter and television reporter and anchor. She received an Emmy award nomination during her television career. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University, her M.S. in journalism from Northwestern University, and her B.A. in Mass Media from Hampton University. She is a former president of the Women’s National Book Association Boston chapter. Her stories and essays have been published in anthologies, magazines, and literary journals, including Vermont Literary Review, Clockhouse Review, Northwestern University Magazine, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and The Book of Hope. She received Honourable Mention in Writer’s Digest magazine’s 84th annual writing contest in the inspirational essay category, and was a Top 10 Finalist for the Still I Rise Grant for Black women writers. She lives in the Boston, Massachusetts area.


Reviews

“A book that is sensual, fraught, and above all, human.”
?The Boston Globe

“This debut takes on the topic of gentrification of African American and immigrant neighborhoods…Themes of race, class and culture are skilfully woven throughout.”
?Ms. Magazine

“an absorbing historical novel about the importance of community in shaping who you are and what you can accomplish.”
?Foreword Reviews

“Brimming with vitality.”
?Willl Medearis, author of Restoration Heights

“A novel about who you love and who becomes your home. A moving and skillful debut.”
?Stephanie Powell Watts, author of No One Is Coming to Save Us

“Absorbing.”
?Foreword Reviews

“Filled with big ideas…a thorough insight into intra-racial relations of the time.”
?Debutiful


Awards

There are no awards found for this book.
Excerpts & Samples ×

Winner, 2020 National Association of Black Journalists Outstanding Literary Award; Overall Winner, 2020 Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Award; Winner, 2021 IPPY Gold Medal for Urban Fiction; Finalist for the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards

Featured on Ms. Magazine‘s June 2020 Reads for the Rest of Us and Bustle‘s 23 Debut Books That Are Too Good To Ignore.

It is 1971. The fictional city of Bellport, Massachusetts, is in decline with an urban redevelopment project on the horizon expected to transform this dying factory town into a thriving economic center. This planned transformation has a profound effect on the residents who live in Bellport as their own personal transformations take place. Sydney Stallworth steps away from her fellowship and law studies at an elite university to support husband Malachi’s dream of opening a business in the heart of the black community of his hometown, Bellport.

For Omar Bassari, an immigrant from Senegal, Bellport is where he will establish his drumming career and the launching pad from which he will spread African culture across the world, while trying to hold onto his marriage. Della Tolliver has built a fragile sanctuary in Bellport for herself, boyfriend Kwamé Rodriguez, and daughter Jasmine, a troubled child prone to nightmares and outbursts.

Tensions rise as the demolition date moves closer, plans for gentrification are laid out, and the pace of suspicious fires picks up. The residents find themselves at odds with a political system manipulating their lives and question the future of their relationships.

The Talking Drum explores intra-racial, class, and cross-cultural tensions, along with the meaning of community and belonging. Examining the profound impact gentrification has on people in many neighborhoods, and the way in which being uprooted affects the fabric of their families, friendships, and emotional well-being, the novel not only focuses on the immigrant experience, but the way in which the immigrant/African American neighborhood interface leads to friction and tension. This book thus provides a springboard to important discussions on race and class differences, on the treatment of immigrants, as well as the government’s relationship and responsibility to society.

Reader Reviews

Accessibility Detail

EPUB Accessibility Specification 1.0 AA
Accessibility summary
Table of contents navigation
Short alternative textual descriptions
Single logical reading order
Publisher contact for further accessibility information
Print-equivalent page numbering

Details

Dimensions:

318 Pages
8.25in * 5.5in * 0.925in
1.1lb

Published:

May 01, 2020

Country of Publication:

CA

ISBN:

9781771337410

Featured In:

Books by Black Authors

Language:

eng

Other Titles by Lisa Braxton

Related Blog Posts

There are no posts with this book.