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Shop nowA Free Man
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Like Dave Eggers' Zeitoun and Alexander Masters' Stuart, this is a tour de force of narrative reportage—an intimate portrait of an invisible man.
Mohammed Ashraf studied biology in college, and after college he learned how to repair television sets, cut suit lengths, and slice chicken. He has lived in Mumbai, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Surat, and Patna, but this evening he is stoned on a street in Sadar Bazaar in North Delhi. The morning shall bring hangovers, whiskey breakfasts, and possibly answers to the lingering questions that haunt Ashraf. How did he get here? Why is he the way he is? And is there a way back home?
In this compelling account of the life of an itinerant laborer, Aman Sethi brings Ashraf vividly alive and illuminates the lives of countless others like him. Wry, humorous, and insightful, A Free Man is an unforgettable portrait of an invisible man in his invisible city.
Aman Sethi, born in Bombay in 1983, studied chemistry in Delhi and attended the Columbia School of Journalism. He is a correspondent for the Hindu and the recipient of a Red Cross Award for his reportage.
Vikas Adam is a classically trained actor with numerous credits in stage, film, commercials, and television, in addition to his over 200 audiobooks. He's established himself as one who creates versatile, distinct, and clear voices for characters he embodies. Equally at home with a light piece of literature or a dark thriller, a short story or an epic novel (his longest-forty-nine hours!), Vikas's audiobooks have garnered numerous awards and nominations, including AudioFile Earphones Awards, various Best of the Year lists, and the Audie Award. When not recording, acting, or directing, he's a lecturer in the Theater Department at UCLA. He was an inaugural inductee into the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame.
Reviews
“Funny, poignant, and deeply moving, A Free Man is an extraordinary vignette into an extraordinary life.”
“A deeply moving, funny, and brilliantly written account from one of India’s most original new voices.”
“A Free Man is a brilliant capturing of the language and bloodstream of a city. Aman Sethi has made a book that’s remarkable in its voice and evocation.”
“A Free Man is stunning. It reminds me of that Victorian masterpiece of investigative journalism, Henry Mayhew’s London Labour and London Poor. Aman Sethi ‘gets’ modern India better than any other journalist I know. Not only is he a remarkable reporter and storyteller but he possesses a novelist’s ear for language, sense of the absurd, and perfect pitch. I’m bowled over, totally.”
“As a writer, Sethi has a keen eye for detail and a sense of perception that succeeds in drawing the reader into the murky underbelly of Ashraf’s world. Laced with black humor, A Free Man is a clever study of contrasting lives that amuse and perturb in equal measures.”
“A moving and irrepressible work of narrative reporting.”
“Journalism at its finest. Narrator Vikas Adam tells the story of these men as though they were characters in a novel. Adam brings the dialogue to the listener with the cadence and liveliness of authentic speech. He uses a heavy, affected South Asian accent to render the English speech of the masdoor, or building laborers. But the listener is given a break from this style in the narrative, which is delivered with a much lighter touch. In this contemporary story of migration, economics, and socialization, these invisible workers come alive.”
“Alternately sad, defiant, carefree, and understated, this journey into a world hidden in plain sight is well worth taking.”
“A darkly comical and eminently readable work of narrative journalism that brings readers into the heart and soul of old Delhi.”
“[Aman Sethi’s] compassion and humor is matched by a fierce determination to tell the stories of ordinary Indians.”
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