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    47
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    47
    Unavailable
    47
    Audiobook6 hours

    47

    Written by Walter Mosley

    Narrated by Ossie Davis

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    47 is the first young adult novel to be written by bestselling author Walter Mosley. A master storyteller, Mosley deftly mixes speculative and historical fiction in this daring novel. Set in a plantation, 47 (a young slave boy) is growing up under the watchful eye of a brutal slave master. His life seems doomed, until he meets the mysterious Tall John who not only introduces him to an unimaginable magical science but teaches 47 the meaning of freedom.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateApr 12, 2005
    ISBN9781400099429
    Unavailable
    47
    Author

    Walter Mosley

    Walter Mosley is the author of over twenty critically acclaimed books and his work has been translated into twenty-one languages. His popular mystery series featuring Easy Rawlins began with Devil in a Blue Dress in 1990, which was later made into a film starring Denzel Washington. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he now lives in New York.

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    Reviews for 47

    3.5/5

    89 ratings9 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Weird. Yes, definitely weird. But I liked it. This story of slavery and redemption is an odd mix of historical fiction and fantasy/science fiction that sits askew in my brain and won't settle down into a comfortable slot. 47 is the protagonist, a young slave without a name on a Southern plantation. He comes under the guidance of another slave called Tall John, who shows him a wider world than he knew existed...a world of freedom, a world free of masters and slaves. At first the visions seem mystical and dream-like, and they are, but gradually we begin to realize that Tall John is not a slave, not a black man, not a human. The author uses old legends of a mythical man called High John, to weave his Tall John character. But in this story, Tall John is an extraterrestrial who is searching for the human savior in the coming struggle with intergalactic evil. 47 is that savior, but he is not ready yet. Tall John tutors him with powers that seem magical, visions of another world, colorful creatures not of this earth, and ideas of freedom and dignity that seem utterly out of place to the young slave.Since the story is told at least vaguely in flashback, we are given an idea of the outcome of the struggle, but this story begs for a sequel. The ending is a bit abrupt and there are many questions still to be explored. The juxtaposition of history and science fiction is a little awkward, and the world Tall John comes from is a little sketchy. But the characters are well-rounded and real, the picture of slavery is harsh and realistic, and the setting both mystical and painfully true.I liked it. I don't exactly know why, but I did. Mosley's writing has always appealed to me. I would recommend this book cautiously, because I know it isn't to everyone's taste. But it goes in an interesting direction much different from anything I expected and I plan to watch Mosely's future titles for more adventure.
    • 3/5
      47, born a slave on a Georgia plantation, meets Tall John, who claims he has been looking for 47 for his whole life. Strange weave of fantasy/myth/historical fiction. Tall John actually comes from a distant planet and 47 is the hero who will save the Universe.
    • 2/5
      Called Baby by his adoptive mother and by his slave number by everyone else, 47 meets Tall John who teaches him to respect himself and reject the mental shackles of slavery, and then eventually the actual shackles. At first, the reader is lead to believe that Tall John is similar to High John, an African trickster god, and maybe he is. But if he is, he is also an alien being from far away and far when. I really wanted to like this book. I usually like Mosley's writing, and respect him very much as an author. However, two things bothered me so much about the book that I'm surprised I finished it. First, the narrator's voice just didn't feel authentic to me. It was an odd mix of old one looking back, naive person in distress, and teacher explaining the institution of slavery. I never felt like the character was talking to me. Instead it felt like an author was talking to me, and the author hadn't decided which voice to use.I could've forgiven that if it were the only flaw, but the fantasy/science fiction element clashed with the realistic depiction of slavery. We had an orange and purple being, shaped like a q-tip, and his people were rainbow people. He was solar powered, and so was his starship. He also fixed any number of horrible injuries and illnesses. Some characters died, but so many were healed that it seemed kind of arbitrary as though High John could have fixed any problem he wanted. He perhaps could have removed all our beloved characters from the situation and left the bad ones to rot, but who knows? We never got a real feel for the extent or cost of his magic. Then we get a moth-like devil, and *wait for this* a one-eyed zombie overseer! It had to happen someday, a zombie overseer. But... that makes me imagine this as a movie production, and sadly I'm seeing it on par with "Dead Snow" and its Nazi Zombies and duct tape medicine. I hope other people love this book, but I couldn't.
    • 4/5
      Historical Fiction HSMosley, W. (2005). 47. New York: Little, Brown and Company. It is 1832 and slave number 47 lives on the Corinthian Plantation. All of the slaves on the plantation are assigned numbers. Some end up with names, except 47 has never been named. His mother died after he was born and his father’s identity has been kept a secret to protect him. He is pushed out to the slave quarters at the young age of fourteen. He is branded and put to work in the cotton fields. Slave number 12 dies of pneumonia and there is a small burial ceremony. 47 runs off after an upsetting encounter with Mama Flore. He runs into the woods and senses that he is being chased. This is when he meets Tall John. Tall John is the character that travels from other galaxies and has magical powers to heal illnesses. He gets 47 to see what the world would be like beyond his life of slavery on a plantation. 47 begins to see himself as more than just a slave.In a mix of historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction Mosley creates a story that mixes the cruel realities of slavery and the magical hope of freedom. Mosley sets the historical scene with well-developed relationships and the use of Southern dialect adds to the story. Grades 8-12.
    • 3/5
      In 1800's Georgia, 47 is a young slave who picks cotton on a plantation. He has always been resigned to his position in life as the way that things work. It is not until a mysterious boy named Tall John arrives at his home that he begins to question everything he has been taught to accept, and begins to shape his own foretold destiny.This book is certainly unique - I don't think that I have ever read another book that blends Historical Fiction with Sci-Fi. I thought that the historical elements of this book were more dominant, but there are definite, quite obvious science fiction leanings as well.Despite a bold, adventurous and revolutionary idea, I don't think that Mosley was able to pull it off. All the scenes where the two genres inter-mingle seem forced and out of place, and the scenes that are sci-fi altogether - when 47 meets people from another galaxy, for example - seem completely foreign and unexpected.A great idea - but not a great book.
    • 2/5
      This story began as other slave stories begin, with the introduction of a hopeful character who will change things. But it departs from an overdone storyline when the characters become mystical and have out of the body journeys that divert the path and guide the story through an unexpected end.
    • 3/5
      This was a bit strange with the fantasy element introduced through the character of Tall John from Africa. The slavery part was well done, but the Tall John part was a bit weird to me. The prolific use of the word nigger was a bit disturbing; I know why Mosley chose to write in this fashion, but it was still disturbing.
    • 4/5
      47 is a plantation field slave, forbidden to have a name of his own -- he is simply assigned a number. He lives a life of downtrodden misery until the mysterious Tall John arrives at the plantation. He refuses to think of himself as a slave and claims that freedom comes from within. This is not a typical historic account of slavery. Tall John has a mysterious background and odd magical gadgets he carries in a carpet bag. This is a very unusual hybrid of history and science fiction. Read-alikes: No idea -- this book isn't even like other Walter Mosely books. It seems unique. It reminded me somewhat of a movie from the 80's called "The Brother from Another Planet" I'd recommend this book as a cross-over between science fiction and history. Perhaps someone who likes one but not the other could be persuaded to read this book. This is one of the most original and strange books I have ever read. It was also fun to read.
    • 3/5
      It begins as a tale of a boy growing up as a slave on a Southern plantation but turns mystical as he meets a runaway slave who speaks of freedom and a supernatural battle to come. Weird.