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Clap Back cover art

Clap Back

By: Nalo Hopkinson
Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
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Summary

A past struggle for racial equity could achieve a profound future victory in this audacious short story about technology, hoodoo, and hope by a Nebula Award-winning author.

Burri is a fashion designer and icon with a biochemistry background. Her latest pieces are African inspired and crafted to touch the heart. They enable wearers to absorb nanorobotic memories and recount the stories of Black lives and forgiveness. Wenda doesn’t buy it. A protest performance artist, Wenda knows exploitation when she sees it. What she’s going to do with Burri’s breakthrough technology could, in the right hands, change race relations forever.

Nalo Hopkinson’s Clap Back is part of Black Stars, a multi-dimensional collection of speculative fiction from Black authors. Read or listen to them in a single sitting.

©2021 by Nalo Hopkinson. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

What listeners say about Clap Back

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Bizarre inflection

The reader's intonation is distractingly bad to the point that sentences are difficult to understand and the appropriate sense of emotion is completely lost. Dreadful acting. Several mispronunciations and strained delivery Story OK, I suppose. Creative premise.

1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

mmmmmm 🤔 the monotone voice

the voice of the storyteller is weirdly monotone, I found it difficult to get into the story.

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Profile Image for Stephanie G. Lewis (she,her)
  • Stephanie G. Lewis (she,her)
  • 14-09-21

How will it end?

An intriguing question on how to end racism, but should that end come at the expense of our uniqueness?

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for CAROLYN G WYNN
  • CAROLYN G WYNN
  • 08-09-21

Enjoyed it

Enjoyed it. It was a cool concept and fascinating storyline. Would be a cool short series

1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Ciarrah_withanh
  • Ciarrah_withanh
  • 04-09-21

For Us, By Her

The concept is one that I can get behind, and crave. This book asks "What if we had the power to take back Our Power?" And I loved every minute of it

1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Ifayemisi
  • Ifayemisi
  • 27-01-23

Nice

I enjoyed the tech take on Ancestral veneration and understanding of SELF as part of the Ancestors. The pain and trauma of being Black are exhausting and palpable.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for jacksprat
  • jacksprat
  • 12-01-23

Must read.

Loved it. Wakanda Forever. Art and science. Holds your attention. From our perspective. Something to think about.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for  Langlais
  • Langlais
  • 19-10-22

A good read

I loved it. It was short and sweet. It's a good book before bed.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for NatureGirl
  • NatureGirl
  • 18-07-22

Unique story

I'm glad I took a chance on this short story. Well written and narrated. I would read more by this author.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for OnlineShoppingMomma
  • OnlineShoppingMomma
  • 13-06-22

I may have to listen to this one twice

very well written and performed. But I don't understand how the two plots are connected. For that reason I may have to listen to this one a couple of times to understand what's really going on.

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Profile Image for Mello
  • Mello
  • 14-03-22

What if we were all brown skinned?

A very interesting thought. The ideas in this futuristic story are very thought-provoking. It speaks to the indignities suffered continuously of my ancestors and presently by us. Will it indeed ever end?

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Tabitha D.
  • Tabitha D.
  • 18-02-22

A Strong Message

At first parts of this story were a little confusing. I think it had to do with the jump between a media report and the actual story. Otherwise this was a story that spoke powerfully about exploitation in less than 50 minutes.

Wenda chooses to speak up instead of staying quiet although it comes at a great cost. The narration definitely gave this story more of an impact as the story unfolds and we learn of the legacy that is left behind by both Wenda and Burri. The narrator does a wonderful job switching between the different characters yet making them distinctly their own.

There are other things in here that the message speaks of as well, but as I'm trying to keep this spoiler free I'm not going to discuss them. I will say though that this is definitely a story that will stick with you even if it's short.