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The Sellout

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The Sellout

By: Paul Beatty
Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi
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About this listen

Winner of the 2016 Man Booker Prize for Fiction

Born in Dickens, Los Angeles, the narrator of The Sellout spent his childhood as the subject in his father's racially charged psychological studies. He is told that his father's memoir will solve their financial woes. But when his father is killed, he discovers there never was a memoir.

Fuelled by despair, he sets out to right this wrong with the most outrageous action conceivable: reinstating slavery and segregating the local high school, which lands him in the Supreme Court.

©2015 Paul Beatty (P)2015 Audible, Inc. Literature & Fiction Satire Comedy Funny Witty Memoir

Critic Reviews

"Outrageous, hilarious and profound.... It takes a whole other level of sheer audacity to expose atrocious things through the play of wit.... Juiciness stains every lovely page of Beatty’s mad, marvellous, toothsome book." ( Financial Times)
"There's satire and then there's satire, and without question Paul Beatty's caustic third novel, The Sellout, definitely falls into the latter category...brutally honest and very funny." ( Independent)
All stars
Most relevant  

Would you listen to The Sellout again? Why?

My first thought was simply to write 'Breath-Taking' and leave the rest to the imagination, but this author deserves something far less cliched. Paul Beatty has produced a work of effortless wit and borderless courage, which is quite possibly the funniest, and simultaneously insightful, book I've had the joy to read for a decade. Centred precariously on racial themes, and even more incendiary ideas, this book feels as if it was written freely, and without of the restraint that might frame the efforts less audacious writers. The result is an unshackled pleasure, that reads effortlessly from one subtle observation to it's explosive counterpoint. I would read this again, if only to soak up some of the detail I might have missed in my first pass, but also just for the sheer racous pleasure of it.

What other book might you compare The Sellout to, and why?

Vonnegut for it's unconventional irreverence in an overly analytical and judgemental world.Marlon James, for the raw and unrestrained freedom of it's characters to self-destruct, and DBC Pierre, for the sheer reckless fun of it.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

When a slaves's request to be 'beaten' threatens to contradict or even betray the nature of the central character, Beatty effortlessly delivers the funniest and most consistent solution imaginable.

The Sellout is a form of literary induced Ashma

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A witty story filled with cognitive dissonance, one to challenge any listener, but to really reward the close listener. Very clever, insightful, a pleasure to hear and very well performed.

Clever, tricky. Loved it.

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Going to have to re-listen to this a couple more times to get my head around it. Great listening. Thought provoking ideas of class struggle in modern America.

What just happened

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I loved it. Perfectly narrated. so true, I thought, we would never understand. thought provoking.

absolutely fabulous.

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Best listen of my life. Incredible. Bought the book just to have it on my bookshelf. Simply amazing

Incredible

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a bit of a tough slog for the first few chapters but showed why it won its award. outstanding novel and great narrating.

quality

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Some of the most entertaining writing I have come across in a very long time. It's entirely possible that some of the subtext went a little over my head, but it wouldn't be the first time.
BRILLIANT prose and the perfect performance to bring it to life.

Loved it!

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The narrator made this far more enjoyable, thought provoking and laugh-out-loud than I could have achieved by reading it.

Better heard rather than read

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Wittiest book I have ever read. Great performance. Deserving of the Man Booker Prize 2016.

First time I lol'd since Hitchhiker's Guide

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In short... this book is excess... The performance the writing story... excess. Avalanches of complicated mildly convoluted satire and wit delivered by Dave Chappelle 😂. The performance absolutely matches the writing... it is hilarious and unique and just... different, most definitely recommend. However, sometimes it can be too much, this story is best listened to concentrated short burst rather than long sitting.

This... is something else

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