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    Makeda
    Makeda
    Makeda
    Audiobook9 hours

    Makeda

    Written by Randall Robinson

    Narrated by Kevin R. Free

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Political activist and best-selling author Randall Robinson is a pillar of scholarship and insight within the African-American literary community. His acclaimed novel Makeda stars Gray March, a young man who, beginning in the 1950s, embarks on a journey of spiritual and historical enlightenment through stories he hears from his blind grandmother. "Eloquent and erudite, Robinson's oft-times mystical coming-of-age saga teems with rich and evocative historical insights."-Booklist
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJun 15, 2012
    ISBN9781464044786

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    Reviews for Makeda

    3.5/5

    23 ratings7 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Randall Robinson's word choice made this book as lush and rich as its historical content. However, what I most appreciated, was the reflection of African American life at the edge of segregation and the Civil Rights movement. Not much has been written from the perspective of African Americans who endured this exciting, but painful transition in their lives. Having gone from being treated as objects without value, to having to forge a place within the American mainstream must have had tremendous impacts on their psyche. It was evident that Gray March's parents were products of this brutal time in American history. Gray was a product of this transition, and his own experiences within this "gray area" of life, impacted the man he would become.Equally compelling was Gray's grandmother, Makeda. Her "visions" of a past life were the binding force in their relationship. Makeda shared her visions with Gray from his earliest years, and he treasured and respected his grandmother's "memories". Believing them to be true, these "memories" almost build a wall around Gray, allowing him to rise above the obvious disconnect between himself and his parents, particularly his father.Never quite sure what has caused this disconnect, we learn that Gray's older brother Gordon, is the beacon in this changing family. Gordon destiny is to be the doctor of the family - the college educated son, which their father worked so doggedly to ensure would come to pass. However, Robinson carefully hides Gordon within the pages of the book, not allowing us to understand the full impact of his existence, until later. Gray, however, has to navigate many worlds: that of post-segregation and pending civil rights; integration within mainstream America, graduating high school and entering college, carrying Makeda's secrets and allowing them to shape the man he is to become.It is Makeda who gently guides young Gray to persue his dream of becoming a writer. Her listening ear, provocative questions and revalations about her cultural origins become the driving force in Gray's life. They form the man he becomes, his ideas and his thoughts - allowing him to rise above the mysterious chasm which exists between himself and his parents. We later see Gray, gingerly examining the chasm when he falls in love with Jeanne, the quiet rock in Gray's life. Jeanne is the moon, whose gravitational pull allows Gray to move in and out, coming to grips with the empty spaces of his life. She, like Makeda, are strong forces by which Gray is able to cross the chasms of his parents and the new America, and stand strong.
    • 4/5
      An enjoyable read with a different historical perspective than what I typically pick up. It is a bit of an overstatement to compare this book heavily to Woolf, Morrison and Marquez, (as the cover does), but it is an enjoyable jaunt into magical realism with an African focus. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy Morrison or who are just curious to learn slightly more, (albeit in the form of a novel), about African history.
    • 4/5
      Part 1We meet the main characters, Graylon and his grandmother, his parents and "perfect" brother, Gordon. Graylon has a special relationship with his grandmother, Makeda/Mattie. While in elementary/Middle school, Gray visits her almost everyday. By the time he reaches HS, his family has moved further away from Mattie so he sees her only on Thursdays. They talk and she tells stories. She is blind from birth but dreams in color of her past life or lives. She tells Gray, who has decided he wants to be a writer, all about her colorful dreams of being one of the Dogon people of West Africa. Gray finds her stories very interesting and starts to research the places and things she mentions.Part 2 is historical/fact. A professor from the University of Ghana, after telling the black senior class that "we (blacks) have no insides", eventually gives a lecture about the Queen of Sheba (actually the Queen of Axum), King Solomon,and their son Menelik. He has a little debate with a student regarding the Council of Nicea and how Jesus became a deity. A lot of education in this Part.Gray begins to connect the dots of his grandmothers dreams with these newly learned facts. Gray is now in Mali in part 4 and he is learning "who" he is. He even called the woman he loves, Jeanne, from Timbuktu to answer a question she asked him that he refused to answer because he was hurt and embarrassed by the answer. Gray did open up to Jeanne and told the whole sad story of what happened to his brother, while at the funeral of his Aunt. Fast forward to "present time": Gray finds that he has acquired some of fathers traits that he is trying to squelch; he and Jeanne has had a full life complete with child & grandchild.I enjoyed more the historical information in the book more so than the actual story, I found Gray to introverted and depressing almost. But he always lit up when speaking with his Grandmother and Jeanne.
    • 2/5
      [Early Reviewer book] This book was a big disappointment. I was not able to finish it due to the writing style. The plot and language of it felt forced. I appreciated the "story" and what the aim of the book was but it felt too contrived; too much like a lecture in a history class but in story form to make it more palatable. I have read his other works, non-fiction, and enjoyed them a great deal. Maybe over time Mr. Robinson will become a storyteller but for now, no.
    • 4/5
      A beautifully conceived novel with two main characters: a young black man coming of age in the south during the civil rights movement and his blind grandmother - a woman who worked all her life as a laundress for white families but wears breathtakingly bright African-inspired muumuus at home. Makeda has another secret - she dreams in color even though her world has been without since she was born. She also dreams of past lives and shares these only with Gray.Gray is a troubled young man. He seems to not understand his mother, feels inferior to his achieving brother, and is ostracized from his father. More than once he states that Makeda is the closest person to him and most like a mother. Obviously, it is through the woman that lives in the dark that Gray will learn to allow color and life into his "gray" world.The pace of revelations from Makeda to Gray were done with skill and kept me hanging on to see what else we would learn about her past lives. Gray researches these as he goes and Robinson weaves some historical facts into Makeda's dreams and lives. While learning a great deal about African history, Robinson never came across as hard-fisted with his facts.The cover of the book states that it is "part coming-of-age, part love story and part spiritual journey". I think Robinson's only downfall in this book was being a bit over-zealous in attempting to do justice to each of these three parts. Yes, it is a spiritual journey and I believe this is where Robinson shines the most and puts the bulk of his effort. He also does justice to Gray's coming of age story - mostly through his spiritual journey. However, I felt the love story had the most holes left to fill. Jeanne's character was not as developed as I would have liked to have seen and because of Gray's journey toward spiritual and emotional maturity, the richness of the love story was not there as I read it. It seemed more of an aside to me. I would have also liked to see Gray's father developed more fully.Makeda herself was an incredible character and someone I found myself wishing I could spend a Thursday afternoon sitting in the parlor listening to her tell her colorful stories.
    • 3/5
      This book is beautifully written and thought-provoking, an interesting read that entertains with an excellent use of visual imagery. Robinson's writing is steady and engaging, and I enjoyed the questions and possibilities that his novel suggests.
    • 3/5
      Gray's grandmother Makeda has shared her dreams with him since he was little. She feels he possess the understanding that no else does. Her dreams inspire him to pursue his own dreams, discover himself and find his own purpose. Robinson's writing is beautiful, almost poetic though long winded at times, it was a delight to read. I enjoyed his writing and his words almost more than the story. In many ways it reminded me of Color of Water by James Mc Bride. Mc Bride pays tribute to his mother while in Makeda, it is a grandmother's selflessness and insight that make the difference.