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WINNER of the Gotham Book Prize * Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award, and the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence * Longlisted for the Story Prize
Named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by NPR, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Chicago Review of Books, LitHub, and Electric Lit
"A standout achievement...American speech is an underused commodity in contemporary fiction and it's a joy to find such a vital example of it here." —The Wall Street Journal
From a superb new literary talent, a rich, lyrical collection of stories about a tight-knit cast of characters grappling with their own personal challenges while the forces of gentrification threaten to upend life as they know it.
At Banneker Terrace, everybody knows everybody, or at least knows of them. Longtime tenants' lives are entangled together in the ups and downs of the day-to-day, for better or for worse. The neighbors in the unit next door are friends or family, childhood rivals or enterprising business partners. In other words, Harlem is home. But the rent is due, and the clock of gentrification—never far from anyone's mind—is ticking louder now than ever.
In eight interconnected stories, Sidik Fofana conjures a residential community under pressure. There is Swan, in apartment 6B, whose excitement about his friend's release from prison jeopardizes the life he's been trying to lead. Mimi, in apartment 14D, hustles to raise the child she had with Swan, waitressing at Roscoe's and doing hair on the side. And Quanneisha B. Miles, in apartment 21J, is a former gymnast with a good education who wishes she could leave Banneker for good, but can't seem to escape the building's gravitational pull. We root for the tight-knit cast of characters as they weave in and out of one another's narratives, working to escape their pasts and blaze new paths forward for themselves and the people they love. All the while we brace, as they do, for the challenges of a rapidly shifting future.
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs brilliantly captures the joy and pain of the human experience in this "singular accomplishment from a writer to watch" (Library Journal, starred review).
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Creators
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Awards
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Release date
August 16, 2022 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781797145020
- File size: 175069 KB
- Duration: 06:04:43
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from June 13, 2022
The residents of a low-income high-rise apartment building in Harlem form the beating heart of Fofana’s dynamic debut collection. The hardscrabble tenants of Banneker Terrace tread water while their greedy landlord imposes evictions. In “The Rent Manual,” Mimi in 14D remarks on how the building houses “a little bit of everybody,” including “folks with child-support payments, uncles in jail, aunties on crack, cousins in the Bloods, sisters hoein.” Besides raising her young son, she desperately cobbles together the rent before late notices land on her doorstep again. In “The Okiedoke,” Swan in 6B nervously awaits his friend’s release from prison, while in “Camaraderie,” Dary in 12H, who is gay, has high hopes for his future while doing sex work to pay the rent. Quanneisha, the former gymnast at the heart of “Tumble,” also sees better things for herself. But the apartment walls are closing in on her and elderly Mr. Murray in 2E, who has been challenging passersby on the street to a game of chess on a plastic crate for decades, until he realizes the time for games is finally up. Fofana delivers the hardy, profane, violent, and passionate narration in Black English Vernacular, and finds the humanity in all his characters as they struggle to get by. These engrossing and gritty stories of tenuous living in a gentrifying America enchant. Agent: Ethan Bassoff, Massie & McQuilkin. -
After a moody jazz riff, Sidik Fofana and a stand-out cast of performers transport listeners to the Banneker Terrace apartments in Harlem. Written in vibrant Black American vernacular, these witty, sad, uplifting stories are ideal for audio. Joniece Abbott-Pratt's Mimi is a beautician behind on the rent. Fofana's Swan might mess up because of a visitor. Andr� Santana's Darius tries to earn funds by offering therapy instead of prostitution. Bahni Turpin's Ms. Dallas is a classroom aide bossed too often by a Harvard-educated teacher. DePre Owens's Kandese manages a candy-selling ring of girls. Nile Bullock's Najee and pals dance for tips in the subway. Jade Wheeler's Quanneisha handles residents she doesn't like. Dominic Hoffman's Mr. Murray earns money playing chess. They're all unforgettable. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine -
December 1, 2022
NYC schoolteacher Fofana debuts with a short story collection set in Obama-era Harlem. Each of the eight stories centers on the life of a tenant living in the newly sold low-income apartment building, Banneker Terrace. Pressure to make rent is a stressor in the tenants' already challenging lives and a common thread running throughout. As the tenants know one another and make appearances in each other's stories, this collection begins to seem like a full-length narrative rather than individual parts. Fofana's multigenerational tenants are vivid and fully developed. Within "Ms. Dallas," for example, the unharnessed energy and group-thinking tendencies of the middle-school students are captured just as naturally as the frustration and tired incredulity of the middle-aged public-school paraprofessional. The edgy and raw language against the backdrop of the city enriches and authenticates these robust characters. The audiobook is narrated by a strong multi-actor cast, including the author, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Nile Bullock, Dominic Hoffman, DePre Owens, Andr� Santana, Bahni Turpin, and Jade Wheeler. Notable performances are Abbott-Pratt's narration of "Rent Manual," the author's reading of "The Okiedoke," and Hoffman's talent in "Federation for the Like-Minded." VERDICT A vibrant short story collection brimming with NYC culture and authentic characters from a debut author with an insider's perspective.--Kym Goering
Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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