Ramadan Ramsey: A Novel
Written by Louis Edwards
Narrated by Korey Jackson
4/5
()
About this audiobook
The Guggenheim Fellowship and Whiting Award-winning author Louis Edwards makes his long-awaited comeback with this epic tale of a New Orleans boy whose very creation is so filled with tension that it bedevils his destiny before he is even born.
Spanning from the Deep South to the Middle East, Ramadan Ramsey bridges multiple countries and cultures, entwining two families who struggle to love and survive in the face of war, natural disasters, and their equally tumultuous, private mistakes and yearnings.
Ramadan Ramsey begins in 1999 with the moving (and funny) teenage love story of Alicia Ramsey, a native New Orleans African American young woman, and Mustafa Totah, a Syrian immigrant who works in her neighborhood at his uncle’s convenience store. Through a series of familial betrayals, Mustafa returns to Syria unaware that Alicia is carrying his child.
When the baby is born, Alicia names their son Ramadan and raises him with the help of her mother, Mama Joon. But tragedy strikes when the epochal hurricane of 2005 barrels into New Orleans, shattering both the Ramsey and Totah families. Years later, when Ramadan turns twelve, he sets off to find Mustafa. It is an odyssey filled with breathtaking and brilliant adventures that takes Ramadan from the familiar world of NOLA to Istanbul, and finally Aleppo, Syria, where he hopes to unite with the father he has never known.
Intimate yet epic, heartbreaking yet triumphant, Ramadan Ramsey explores the urgency of 21st century childhood and the richness and complexity of the modern family as a shared global experience. It is also a reminder of Louis Edwards’ immense talent and fearless storytelling and is a welcome return of this literary light.
Louis Edwards
The Guggenheim Fellowship and Whiting Award–winning has published three acclaimed novels, including Ten Seconds, N, and Oscar Wilde Discovers America. Born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Edwards attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and Hunter College in New York City. After graduating from LSU with a BA in journalism, he moved to New Orleans, where he has had a decades-long career as a producer of music festivals and other special events. He is currently the chief creative officer and chief marketing officer of Festival Productions, Inc.–New Orleans, which produces the world-famous New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (aka Jazz Fest). He lives in New Orleans.
Related to Ramadan Ramsey
Related audiobooks
Saving Ruby King: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rib King: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Twelve-Mile Straight: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blue-Skinned Gods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yonder: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Minister Primarily: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Where the Line Bleeds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Monticello: Fiction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everywhere You Don't Belong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Aviary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Salt Fields: A Novella Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Unlasting Home: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesmyn Ward: Sing, Unburied, Sing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Island Queen: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Water I've Seen Is Running Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Halsey Street Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beneath the Lion's Gaze: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Benevolence: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Long Division Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Eternal Audience of One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No One Is Coming to Save Us: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Caul Baby: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Travelers: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Happiness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Bottom Saints: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't Cry for Me: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Vixen: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5New York, My Village Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Memory of Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Intuitionist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Historical African American Fiction For You
Their Eyes Were Watching God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Let Us Descend: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Other Princess: A Novel of Queen Victoria's Goddaughter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The House of Eve Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Reformatory: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lovecraft Country: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Other Eden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Darkest Child Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mules and Men Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Attic Child: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Destroyer of Worlds: A Return to Lovecraft Country Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mustard Seed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Yellow Wife: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On the Rooftop: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Don't Cry for Me: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Trinity: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5She Wears the Mask Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Night Wherever We Go: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Follow the Angels, Follow the Doves: The Bass Reeves Trilogy, Book One Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Queen of Exiles: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Coming Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Things Past Telling: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wench: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Thread Collectors: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sleeping Car Porter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Undertaker's Assistant Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Carolina Built Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Child Bride: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Ramadan Ramsey
6 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Raised by his grandma, Mama Joon, Ramadan inherits her worldly goods on her death. At age 12, living in New Orleans which he loves, he ends up fleeing his jealous aunt and her gangster sons. Heading to the middle east via Istanbul, he ends up in Aleppo, Syria searching for the father he never met. He makes tons of friends bonding with them over basketball and hip-hop. He is a resilient kid able to survive some challenging times. The book slowly picks up momentum once the background is established. Edwards can use his writing skills to paint a picture of hope in the future, despite sadness.