""A dozen interlinked, music-oriented stories set in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where Garricks was raised... Each songlike story feels like a breakout hit encapsulating the brokenness and the beauty in lifeâs soundtrack.""âBooklist, starred review
âBeautifully woven . . . a magical delight.ââHari Kunzru, author of White Tears
A Broken Peopleâs Playlist is set to the soundtrack of life, comprised of twelve music-inspired tales about love, the human condition, micro-moments, and the search for meaning and sometimes, redemption. It is also Chimeka Garricksâs love letter to his native city, Port Harcourt, introducing us to a cast of indelible characters in these loosely interlocked tales.
There is the teenage wannabe-DJ eager to play his first gig even as his family disastrously falls apartâwho reappears many years later as an unhappy middle-aged man drunk-calling his ex-wife; a man who throws a living funeral for his dying brother; three friends who ponder penis captivus and oneâs peculiar erectile dysfunction; a troubled woman who tries to find her peace-place in the world, helped by a headful of songs and a pot of ginger tea.
Infused with the authorâs resonant and evocative storytelling, each page holds âthe depth of a novelâ (Hari Kunzru); a character, a moment that willâlike a favorite songâlong linger in the heart and mind.