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Title details for Open City by Teju Cole - Available

Open City

by Teju Cole
Kevin Mambo
Audiobook
3 of 3 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
3 of 3 copies available

Acclaimed author Teju Cole's writing has appeared in numerous journals in Nigeria and the United States. His second novel, Open City is the story of a Nigerian-German psychiatrist making a living in New York City five years after the Twin Towers were destroyed. The tale emerges as a rich and unforgettable meditation of life and culture."The soft, exquisite rhythms of its prose, the display of sensibility, the lucid intelligence, make it a novel to savour and treasure."—Colm Tóibín

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    February 8, 2011

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781461825302
      • File size: 260237 KB
      • Duration: 09:02:09

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A Nigerian-German psychiatrist wanders the streets of Manhattan and Brussels, ruminating on recent events in his life as well as his childhood in Nigeria; pondering larger questions of culture, history, and religion; and meeting an assortment of characters along the way. What results is an intelligent meditation on a variety of topics. The work is rich with descriptive detail but devoid of deep emotional impact. Whether the lack of emotional impact is intentional or not, it doesn't help that Kevin Mambo's narration is too slow and ponderous, lulling the listener through the weighty subject matter. A bit more animation in his performance would have been more engaging. S.E.G. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from November 1, 2010
      Possibly the only negative thing to say about Cole's intelligent and panoramic first novel is that it is a more generous account of the recent past than the era deserves. America's standing in the world is never far from the restless thoughts of psychiatry resident Julius, a Nigerian immigrant who wanders Manhattan, pondering everything from Goya and the novels of J.M. Coetzee to the bankruptcy of Tower Records and the rise of the bedbug epidemic. In other words, it is an ongoing reverie in the tradition of W.G. Sebald or Nicholson Baker, but with the welcome interruptions of the friends and strangers Julius meets as he wanders Penn Station, the Upper West Side, and Brussels during a short holiday, and amid discussions of Alexander Hamilton, black identity, and the far left—a truly American novel emerges. Julius pines over a recent ex, mourns the death of a friend, goes to movies, concerts, and museums, but above all he ruminates, and the picture of a mind that emerges in lieu of a plot is fascinating, as it is engaged with the world in a rare and refreshing way.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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