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A Different Drummer

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A Different Drummer

By: William Melvin Kelley
Narrated by: Greg Lockett, Nneka Okoye
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About this listen

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 Southern States United States Fiction
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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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