Ramadan Ramsey audiobook

A grandmother’s gift of unconditional love gives a little boy the courage to search for his father in war-torn Syria. A beautiful story filled with humor, heart and an abundance of hope. I received a copy of this book from Amistad/HarperCollins through Edelweiss.

Ramadan Ramsey is the search of a boy for the father who didn't even know of his existence. Louis Edwards has managed to bring to life his characters, his locations, utilizing some gorgeous prose and some frustrating situations. The eponymous hero, truly an original creation, deserves a sequel.

I first heard a section of this book read by the author at the Community of Writers, a summer writing conference, and I fell in love with the music of the writing. Many people write a rousing story, but not all of them have the love of language that makes each sentence a thing of beauty. I bought the book, tucked it away until the right moment, when I wanted to read a semi-mythical, deliciously musical novel about a young New Orleans boy, his young black mother Alicia and her extensive family headed by a powerful matriarch, Mama Joon, and his young immigrant father, Mustafa, a Syrian Muslim, who's life is fatefully steered by his own family, both by his uncle and boss in America, and his mother and aunt back in Aleppo. Where at first it reminded me of the multi-voiced The Travelers by Regina Porter, I soon realized we were on very different turf, that there would be a rather fairy-tale quality about this book, and its protagonist, Ramadan. Not quite magical realism, but often time-out-of-time, with unusual responses and unlikely journeys and connections, more like A Gentleman from Moscow in that sense. The book has to find its reader, as the cynical will sooner or later question the the survival of this magical boy. Read it for the joy of the language and its unforgettable characters, a real 'tale.' Here's a bit of a predatory aunt, swooping down on Ramadan after the passing of his beloved grandmother, the family matriarch: "Clarissa flung open Mama Joon's bedroom door as forcefully as she had Ramadan's. The same conquistador spirit consumed her now, pressing her forward with a Cortesian glee. Her Montezuma was no more, and what was left behind rightfully belonged to her. She wanted what ever looter wants. Loot, of course--on the low end, anything of value; on the high, something precious, unexpected, unknown..."Here's Mustafa, thinking about the chewing gum he restocks, and the democratic legacy of providing people with the small things they need: "Mustafa accepted and internalized this: Every stick of Wrigley's was redolent of the republic. And for him, America, once as foreign and unthinkable a destination as Mars, once as distant and virtual as www.wrigley.com, acquired a realness, as well as some of the specific properties of his favorite product, Wrigley's gum: a familiarity, a fathomable appeal, a surprising and substantive complexity that challenged the showy surfaces of its vibrant packaging--and yes, a sweetness."He told no one of his quiet discovery: his uncle and his cousins would have thought he was crazy. America wasn't sweet to them; it was bitter. It was also stony and cold, not to mention dangerous. It was like one of those brick cartons of Green Giant chopped spinach in the freezer bin that few of the regular customers bought..."It was sad to see the YAish cover of a book like this--don't be misled. This is beautiful, language oriented, thoughtful magical mystery of a book.

What an adventure!I first learned of this book in the New York Times Book Review in August. It caught my attention because it involved the disaster in New Orléans that was Hurricane Katrina. But Katrina is only a small part of Ramadan Ramsey’s adventure. The end of the story finds this young American boy fighting his way through war-torn Syria in search of his father. You see Ramadan Ramsey’s parents were young when he was conceived in New Orleans. Their flirtation quickly advanced into a relationship, which was interrupted by Mustafah’s abrupt return to Syria. He never knew that he had conceived a child. This child was Ramadan. He was raised by his maternal grandmother, Mama Joon. The relationship between these two (mature woman and little boy) was extremely close; and Ramadan, though he was filled with anger and a fighting spirit as a young child, became more thoughtful and introspective with the gentle love of Mama Joon. Louis Edwards is very skilled with language and knows how to turn a clever phrase. I enjoyed the philosophy he throws into the story; I found it stimulating, like having lunch with a clever friend. I always save my fifth star for books that I want to become a part of my very soul, but I would surely love to give this book a 4.5 star rating. If the story stays with me, I will revisit it and give it the fifth star it deserves.

Interesting journey story. Perhaps more interesting if you’re a Young Adult or Middle Grader. Unbelievable, but it works as a fable. In parts I was put off by the casual stereotyping of Ramadan’s New Orleans family. 3.5

This is a wonderful modern epic tale of a 12 year old boy-Ramadan Ramsay- searching the world for the father who doesn't know he exists. He's the son of Alicia and Mustafa, whose uncle was so appalled by their relationship that he sent Mustafa back to Syria. Then, Alicia dies and her mother- Mama Yoon steps in until she too dies. This takes full advantage of the New Orleans setting in the early parts- Hurricane Katrina in particular. Unfortunately for him, his Aunt Clarissa is not one bit happy about him and Ramadan makes the decision to hunt for Mustapha. Yes it's implausible that a 12 year old could travel outside the US to Europe, let alone to Syria, but go with it. There are rewards on each page here, with terrific writing and a sense of derring-do we don't often see. Thanks to edelweiss for the ARC. You will root for Ramadan. Great read.

Cute comedic novel about a boy born to a mother from New Orleans and many children and different fathers. His father he discovers is a Syrian whose family forced him to return after he impregnated his mom. He grows up wanting to find him and ends up in Turkey where dad is a refugee. More ensures.

Really enjoyed this story and the main character, but for some reason it took me longer to read than usual. Some beautiful nuggets to dwell on.

Amazing! Such a great book!

A story about a half Syrian half Black young man growing up in New Orleans. Themes of family and finding your people. Great character development and really unique writing style. That family was real, like people I've grown up with. The part about Syria was really interesting.To get an idea of his writing style. This is about the first time the main character, Ramadan, smokes MJ. He really can evoke a feeling:"As Ramadan reached for the joint, the long-awaited thrill of being invited into the Ramsey fraternity flushed through him, and he saw what looked like pride come over his cousins as he brought the damp tip of the joint to his lips and inhaled the way he had seen them do so many times. The smell of burning herb, generated for the first time by his force, and closer to his face than ever before, was warmer and sweeter than usual. More intoxicating, too, of course--but not as intoxicating as the feeling that he was, at last, being initiated into his own family. In the rising swoon, the headiness of that first hit, he reveled in the suspension of his loneliness. He held the smoke a full five seconds, not wanting to release it, preferring to asphyxiate on the vapors of acceptance, for he was afraid that when he exhaled, this kinship might end."

It's only when you sit there with the book hugged to your chest that you really know how you feel about it. Ramadan Ramsey has done that to me now, sitting in the afterglow of the read.This book reaches out and over cultural, racial, national and religious boundaries, and swipes away societal limitations to reveal all the potentialities that remain in the person of Ramadan Ramsey. This little person, who by the usual methods of judgment, is nothing but a stray. He is an intersection of faiths and race. Abandoned, born on the wrong side of every [insert preferred cliché here], seemingly championed only by the downtrodden and fragile, his future seems lost or at best without hope. Yet armed with his overwhelming desire to find his father, he is ready to face all of it. The journey is amazing, and the story profound. Rather mythic, really.When I least expected it, Ramadan Ramsey turned it into a moment of the Spirit. I hope we meet again.A Sincere thanks to Louis Edwards, Amistad and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.#RamadanRamsey #NetGalley

REVIEW - 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 🌟 Currently, I am really enjoying books from cultures other than my own. Think - Girl With the Louding Voice, A Burning, the Bad Muslim Discount, the Henna Artist, and now Ramadan Ramsey. Synopsis: 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. This story feels to me like a modern “tall tale” or “folk tale” as twelve year old Ramadan travels the world to find his unknown father. You cheer for him as he experiences adventure after adventure, challenge after challenge. This book is recommended for readers who enjoy classic literature as the writing is very sophisticated. I usually read very quickly, but I slowed down to read and reread sentences in the beginning. If you are a skim and scan reader, this will require more focus, but the writing really adds to the overall feel of the hero's journey. I hope you love it! Thank you to NetGalley, Louis Edwards and Amistad Publishing for an e-ARC in exchange fo an honest review.

REVIEW - 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 🌟 Currently, I am really enjoying books from cultures other than my own. Think - Girl With the Louding Voice, A Burning, the Bad Muslim Discount, the Henna Artist, and now Ramadan Ramsey. Synopsis: 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. This story feels to me like a modern “tall tale” or “folk tale” as twelve year old Ramadan travels the world to find his unknown father. You cheer for him as he experiences adventure after adventure, challenge after challenge. This book is recommended for readers who enjoy classic literature as the writing is very sophisticated. I usually read very quickly, but I slowed down to read and reread sentences in the beginning. If you are a skim and scan reader, this will require more focus, but the writing really adds to the overall feel of the hero's journey. I hope you love it! Thank you to NetGalley, Louis Edwards and Amistad Publishing for an e-ARC in exchange fo an honest review.

This story flows very smoothly and has a clear “hero’s journey” plot line. In New Orleans, a young black woman named Alicia meets a Syrian man named Mustafa. Their union brings about a child, Ramadan. Mustafa is sent home to Syria before he even finds out that Ramadan was born, and Mama Joon didn’t tell him that his father’s family was so close. Unfortunately, his mother dies when Ramadan is just a baby. Then Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans, removing what was left of Ramadan’s family from America. Upon Mama Joon’s death, Ramadan makes the biggest decision of his life: go overseas and hunt for his father. Most of this story is very well written, although there are a couple of odd sentences, like toward the end when Mustafa is carrying him and his lips pucker like searching for a nipple. So weird. I wish also there was a little more closure as far as what happens when he returns home.

Ramadan Ramsey is a fun adventure of a book filled with descriptions that are uniquely stitched together. I love some of the ways the author describes the places, events, and people in ways that seem fresh and new, yet very familiar. The characters are rich, especially Ramadan, whose determined spirit is something to learn from. For some coincidences, you’ll have to suspend reality quite a bit. As another reviewer mentioned, it’s almost better to reframe it as fable or fantasy to fully enjoy the adventure. I liked the first part the most in comparison to the middle and end section. But all in all, would recommend for someone looking to get lost in the life of Ramadan Ramsey for a couple of days (since it’s hard to put down!)

I received this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. Knowing the premise of this book, I was somewhat skeptical about how this story was going to play out. But, I've known a fair number of intelligent and precocious 12-year-olds, so I was willing to suspend my disbelief about Ramadan's adventures. Then I started actually reading. This story was more along the lines of a parable or folktale and if you approach it with that in mind, it is really a remarkably beautiful novel. While the ending did feel a little rushed, I decided it made sense given that it was such a small part of his young life and that his life in NOLA should include more detail and depth. Overall, I was enthralled with the story and the philosophical way it was told.

Read if you: Want a funny, moving, whirlwind, and poignant story of love, death, travel, and new beginnings. I'm automatically intereted in any New Orleans-set story, so I was eager to read this. It definitely did not disappoint! Ramadan is a terrific creation: impulsive, eager, and strong. This is a whirwind of a story at times, as it takes you from New Orleans, to Turkey, then Syria. Librarians/booksellers: Definitely purchase for readers that enjoy epic-like stories set in different locations. Many thanks to Amistad Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.