A Broken People's Playlist: Stories (from Songs)

"A dozen interlinked, music-oriented stories set in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where Garricks was raised... Each songlike story feels like a breakout hit encapsulating the brokenness and the beauty in life's soundtrack."--Booklist, starred review

"Beautifully woven . . . a magical delight."--Hari Kunzru, author of White Tears

A Broken People's Playlist is set to the soundtrack of life, comprised of twelve music-inspired tales about love, the human condition, micro-moments, and the search for meaning and sometimes, redemption. It is also Chimeka Garricks's love letter to his native city, Port Harcourt, introducing us to a cast of indelible characters in these loosely interlocked tales.

There is the teenage wannabe-DJ eager to play his first gig even as his family disastrously falls apart--who reappears many years later as an unhappy middle-aged man drunk-calling his ex-wife; a man who throws a living funeral for his dying brother; three friends who ponder penis captivus and one's peculiar erectile dysfunction; a troubled woman who tries to find her peace-place in the world, helped by a headful of songs and a pot of ginger tea.

Infused with the author's resonant and evocative storytelling, each page holds "the depth of a novel" (Hari Kunzru); a character, a moment that will--like a favorite song--long linger in the heart and mind.

Publisher: Harpervia
Published: 03/21/2023
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.7lbs
Size: 8.35h x 5.67w x 1.02d
ISBN: 9780063268180


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 02/15/2023 pg. 18
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2023
Library Journal 03/31/2023 pg. 1