The Second Life of Samuel Tyne
Esi Edugyan
Jan 2019 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah
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10 hr 13 min
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About this audiobook
Haunting and atmospheric, this debut novel portrays the heartbreak, hardship and moments of surprising grace in the life of a man struggling to realize his destiny.
A young man of astonishing promise when he emigrated from Ghana in 1955, Samuel Tyne was determined to accomplish great things. Fifteen long years later, he’s an insignificant government employee who hates his job when he unexpectedly inherits his uncle’s crumbling mansion in Aster, Alberta. Despite his wife’s resistance and the sullen complaints of his thirteen-year-old twin daughters, Samuel quits his job and moves his family to the town. For here, he believes, is that fabled second chance, and he is determined not to fail again.
At first, Aster seems perfect -- to Samuel, the formerly all-black town represents the return to a communal, idyllic way of life. But he soon discovers the town’s problems: a history of in-fighting, a strict town council and a series of mysterious fires that put all the townsfolk on edge. When his daughters cease speaking and refuse to explain their increasingly strange behaviour, Samuel turns more and more to the refuge of his electronics shop.
As his ambitions intensify, the life he has struggled so hard to improve begins to disintegrate around him, and a dark current of menace in the town is turned upon the Tyne family.
A young man of astonishing promise when he emigrated from Ghana in 1955, Samuel Tyne was determined to accomplish great things. Fifteen long years later, he’s an insignificant government employee who hates his job when he unexpectedly inherits his uncle’s crumbling mansion in Aster, Alberta. Despite his wife’s resistance and the sullen complaints of his thirteen-year-old twin daughters, Samuel quits his job and moves his family to the town. For here, he believes, is that fabled second chance, and he is determined not to fail again.
At first, Aster seems perfect -- to Samuel, the formerly all-black town represents the return to a communal, idyllic way of life. But he soon discovers the town’s problems: a history of in-fighting, a strict town council and a series of mysterious fires that put all the townsfolk on edge. When his daughters cease speaking and refuse to explain their increasingly strange behaviour, Samuel turns more and more to the refuge of his electronics shop.
As his ambitions intensify, the life he has struggled so hard to improve begins to disintegrate around him, and a dark current of menace in the town is turned upon the Tyne family.
About the author
ESI EDUGYAN is the author of the novels The Second Life of Samuel Tyne and Half-Blood Blues, which won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Orange Prize. In 2014, she published her first book of non-fiction, Dreaming of Elsewhere: Observations on Home. She lives in Victoria, British Columbia, with her husband and two children.
KHADIJAH ROBERTS-ABDULLAH is an Afro-Caribbean, Toronto based actor, writer, producer, comedian and chef. Living her life at a multitude of intersections has motivated Khadijah's efforts to create meaningful and socially relevant work that is reflective of our social landscape. Khadijah is thrilled to be lending her voice to a piece of Canadian literature that speaks to the Afro-Canadian experience. Notable credits include The Book of Negroes for audio recordings, Lila in Kat Sandler’s Bang Bang, Laertes in Ravi Jain’s The Prince Hamlet , Claudette in How Black Mothers Say I Love You for the stage, American Gods, What We Do In The Shadows, Workin Moms, and Designated Survivor for television. Check out what else Khadijah is up to next on IG @dijyro and Twitter @dijyroberts.
KHADIJAH ROBERTS-ABDULLAH is an Afro-Caribbean, Toronto based actor, writer, producer, comedian and chef. Living her life at a multitude of intersections has motivated Khadijah's efforts to create meaningful and socially relevant work that is reflective of our social landscape. Khadijah is thrilled to be lending her voice to a piece of Canadian literature that speaks to the Afro-Canadian experience. Notable credits include The Book of Negroes for audio recordings, Lila in Kat Sandler’s Bang Bang, Laertes in Ravi Jain’s The Prince Hamlet , Claudette in How Black Mothers Say I Love You for the stage, American Gods, What We Do In The Shadows, Workin Moms, and Designated Survivor for television. Check out what else Khadijah is up to next on IG @dijyro and Twitter @dijyroberts.
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