Kazi 88.7 Fm Book Review

Back in 2012, Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay conducted a short interview with Bernice L. McFadden on KAZI Book Review (the name of this show before it changed in 2021) shortly after Akashic Books published her novel GATHERING OF WATERS. It is a tale narrated by the town of Money, Mississippi—the site of the brutal murder of Emmett Till in 1955. This haunting story, according to Akashic Books, "mines the truth about Money, Mississippi, as well as the town’s families and threads their history over decades. The bare-bones realism—both disturbing and riveting—combined with a magical realm in which ghosts have the final say, is reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s BELOVED." I hope you enjoy it.Follow Diverse Voices Book Review on Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Bluesky - @diversevoicesbooks.bsky.social

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amran Gowani interviewed Amin Ahmad, author of the propulsive psychological thriller, A KILLER IN THE FAMILY. They discussed Amin’s inspirations for writing the novel—including THE GREAT GATSBY, THE GODFATHER trilogy, and HBO’s SUCCESSION—how unfettered capitalism has made America and India alike in unexpected ways, and how the pursuit of wealth and power encourages people to corrupt everything and everyone in their path. Follow Amin on Instagram at @aminahmadbooks and learn more at www.aminahmadbooks.com. Amin was raised in India and came to America at the age of 17. He spent many years working as an architect before pivoting to creative writing. Amin has previously published two thrillers under the penname A.X. Ahmad, and his short story collection won the 2020 GS Chandra Prize. He currently teaches creative writing at Duke University and lives in Durham, NC with his family and a very mischievous cat.Amin Ahmad's WebsiteOfficial Publisher Page for A KILLER IN THE FAMIL

This is a rebroadcast of a conversation first aired live on KAZI 88.7 FM in April 2016, featuring Bernice L. McFadden, author of the 2016 award-winning novel, THE BOOK OF HARLAN. The interview—conducted by Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay with the assistance of contributor Evelyn Martin‑Anderson—was later shared on the podcast in July 2019. DVBR is revisiting the discussion now to celebrate Akashic Books’ release of a special 10th anniversary edition of the novel, which remains one of my personal favorites. In this wide‑ranging discussion, McFadden talks about the lyrical language that shapes her work, her deep engagement with family history, and the hidden histories she uncovers through fiction. She reflects on The Book of Harlan as a sweeping saga that moves from the American South to Harlem, Paris, and World War II–era Europe, exploring friendship, legacy, and the power of storytelling to “breathe life back into memory.”Bernice McFadden is the author of several novels, including Glorious and Gat

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed A. Mechele Dickerson, author of THE MIDDLE CLASS NEW DEAL: RESTORING UPWARD MOBILITY AND THE AMERICAN DREAM. In this wide‑ranging conversation, law professor Dickerson discusses how her earlier work on homeownership and affordable housing led her to examine the broader erosion of economic security for low‑ and middle‑income Americans. She explains how rising costs across housing, education, and healthcare are interconnected—and what policy changes are necessary to restore genuine upward mobility in the United States.A. Mechele Dickerson is the Arthur M. Moeller Chair in Bankruptcy Law and Practice at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also the author of HOMEOWNERSHIP IN AMERICA’S FINANCIAL UNDERCLASS  Her scholarship focuses on consumer finance, housing policy, and the economic challenges facing working‑ and middle‑class families.Follow Diverse Voices Book Review on Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book

In this episode of Diverse Voices Book Review, host Hopeton Hay speaks with novelist Karan Mahajan about his latest novel, THE COMPLEX. Mahajan discusses how the book examines immigration, marriage, family hierarchies, and the unspoken emotional lives that shape personal relationships. Set primarily in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in India and the United States, the conversation explores how private family dynamics intersect with larger political and social forces.Karan Mahajan is also the author of THE ASSOCIATION OF SMALL BOMBS, which was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and he was named one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists. He is an associate professor of literary arts at Brown University.Follow Diverse Voices Book Review on Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewBluesky - @diversevoicesbooks.bsky.socialEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Terence Keel, author of THE CORONER’S SILENCE: Death Records and the Hidden Records of Police Violence.  In the interview, Keel discussed how the current system of death investigation operates as a mechanism of institutional safeguarding and how communities can hold coroners and medical examiners more accountable.  He also shared his experiences working with families that have experienced these losses and community organizations advocating for more accountabity.Terence Keel is an award-winning scholar, the founding director of the BioCritical Studies Lab, and a professor of human biology, society, and African American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.He is the author of Divine Variations: How Christian Thought Became Racial Science and co-editor of Critical Approaches to Science and Religion.  Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookr

In this episode of Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Kimberly Lau interviews Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and novelist Mirta Ojito about her novel DEEPER THAN THE OCEAN.In the interview, Lau and Ojito discuss the book’s dual narrative and its inspiration: the 1919 sinking of the Valbanera, a Spanish ship carrying hundreds of immigrants to the Americas that was lost at sea during a hurricane, with no survivors. The conversation explores how this tragedy help shape a story about migration, inherited trauma, memory, and family history.Mirta Ojito is a Cuban-born journalist, professor, and author. She is the recipient of both a Pulitzer Prize and an Emmy Award and has written two nonfiction books. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

In this episode of Diverse Voices Book Review, host Hopeton Hay welcomes author and historian Clyde Ford for a conversation about his book A HIGH PRICE FOR FREEDOM: Raising Hidden Voices from the African American Past. Ford challenges familiar narratives about Black history, including the meaning of Juneteenth, the overlooked leadership of Black women, and the hidden figures behind pivotal moments in the Black Freedom Struggle, urging listeners to confront historical myths and engage the truth. Learn more about Clyde Ford at https://www.clydeford.com and explore the book on the publisher’s page at https://www.harpercollins.com/products/a-high-price-for-freedom-clyde-w-ford.About Clyde Ford Clyde Ford is the author of more than a dozen works of fiction and nonfiction and serves as director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Library Publishing Project. He is an award-winning writer and sought-after public speaker whose work centers on Black history, myth, and social justice.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: F

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amran Gowani interviewed Jennifer Chow, author of the cozy mystery novel TELL-TALE TREATS. They discussed the importance of food to Asian and Asian American culture, how Jennifer found her way into the cozy genre, the delicate balancing act of tackling serious themes in a whimsical tone, and why everyone loves to pet bunnies. Follow Jennifer on Instagram at @jenjchow and learn more at jenniferjchow.com.Jennifer Chow writes cozy mystery series filled with hope and heritage. She has been a finalist for the Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Lilian Jackson Braun Memorial Awards. She has also been a past president of Sisters in Crime and she’s currently an active member of Crime Writers of Color and Mystery Writers of America.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook: @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram: @diverse_voices_book_reviewEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com Amran Gowani Social Media:Instagram: @amrangowaniLinkedIn: @amrangowaniSubstack: amrangowani.substack.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Johnny Lorenz, translator of the Brazilian novel THE FRONT by Edimilson de Almeida Pereira. Set in Brazil, the novel follows an unnamed narrator standing in line, using memory, poetic language, and philosophical reflection to confront hunger, racism, and the everyday violence of social systems. In the interview, Lorenz said he was inspired to translate more of the literary work of writers of color to speak to the moment after the rise of Black Lives Matter protests against the murder of George Floyd.About Johnny Lorenz:Johnny Lorenz is a poet, translator, and scholar, and a professor of English at Montclair State University. He has translated several major works of Brazilian literature, including novels by Clarice Lispector and Itamar Vieira Junior, and focuses on bringing Afro‑Brazilian and diasporic writers to English‑language readers.About Author Edimilson de Almeida PereiraEdimilson de Almeida Pereira is a Brazilian poet, scholar, and novelist whose

In celebration of Black History Month, we're reposting Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay's  interview with Dana A. Williams, author of TONI AT RANDOM: The Iconic Writer's Legendary Editorship. It was was originally posted on July 3, 2025.In the interview, Dr. Williams discussed Toni Morrison's path to becoming a book editor, some of the Black writers she edited at Random House including Angela Davis and Toni Cade Bambara, and what inspired her to write the book.Dana A. Williams is Professor of African American Literature in the Department of English and Dean of the Graduate School at Howard University. She is former president of the College Language Association and the Modern Languages Association and is the author of In the Light of Likeness—Transformed: The Literary Art of Leon Forrest. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review 

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amran Gowani interviewed Ross Montgomery, author of the locked-room mystery THE MURDER AT WORLD’S END. They discussed humanity’s perpetual fascination with apocalyptic thinking, Ross’s long-time fascination with Halley’s comet, the works that inspired Ross to write his first adult novel, and what’s next in the nascent Stockingham and Pike series. Follow Ross on Instagram at @mossmontmomery and learn more at http://rossmontgomery.co.uk.Ross Montgomery is an award-winning author of over twenty children’s books. THE MURDER AT WORLD’S END is his first adult novel.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Jarvis R. Givems, author of I'LL MAKE ME A WORLD: The 100-Year Journey of Black History Month.  In the interview, Givens not only discussed the importance of Carter G. Woodson, the founder of Black History Month, and other important figures, but also the role of teachers in providing guidance and inspiration for young black students.  He also wrote in his book that "preserving the history of black communities and culture is not just the work of historians but of all members of the community.  Givens also explained that Woodson "created the weeklong celebration with the explicitly political aims, it's objective being to popularize the study and public commemoration of black life and culture as a culture weight against the anti-black narratives used to justify the violent mistreatment and the second-class citizenship of black people in US society and around the globe."Jarvis R. Givens is a professor of education and African and African American Studies and

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amanda Moore interviewed Yasmin Angoe about her new book, Behind These Four Walls.  Yasmin tells the story of a young woman who enters the world of a wealthy family in a desperate search for truth only to find herself in a dangerous world of deceit.  You can learn more about Yasmin on Instagram at @author_yasminangoe, on Facebook @ Yasmin Angoe Author and on her website at yasminangoe.com.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Follow us on Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewFollow us on Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

I was really excited to interview my friend and fellow book lover, Deone Wilhite.  Deone and I were in a book club together in the mid-1990s in Austin, Texas. He is a community activist, a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, a long-suffering Dallas Cowboys fan, and a not-so-suffering UT Longhorns football fan.  On Facebook, he is well known for his book nerd alerts, grabbing the attention of his fellow readers for recommending tomes that have blown him away.In the interview, Deone credits his late mother for his love of reading.  He said, “My mother was a schoolteacher, so there were always lots of books and reading materials around.” He cites this environment for sparking his lifelong love of reading. We talked about his favorite authors, 1990s hip hop, and the best book he read in 2025, THE AFTERLIFE OF MALCOLM X by Mark Whitaker.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Join Hopeton Hay on Diverse Voices Book Review as he talks with Nicholas Buccola, author of One Man’s Freedom: Goldwater, King, and the Struggle Over an American Idea. Buccola explores how two iconic leaders—Barry Goldwater and Martin Luther King Jr.—shaped contrasting visions of freedom during a pivotal era in American history.Nicholas  is a writer, lecturer, and teacher who specializes in the area of American political thought.  His previous books include The Fire Is upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate over Race in America (Princeton University Press, 2019) and The Political Thought of Frederick Douglass: In Pursuit of American Liberty (New York University Press, 2012).  He is a Professor of Humanism and Ethics in the Department of Government at Claremont McKenna College.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Tayyba Kanwal about her debut story collection, TALKING WITH BOYS.  In the conversation, Kanwal shared how her stories explore themes of cultural identity and female agency through the lens of Pakistani-Americans. With linked characters, the tales span Houston, Lahore, Pakistan; and Dubai, going as far back as 1950 to 2020. Tayyba Kanwal is a Pakistani-American writer from Houston, TX. Her award-winning work has appeared injournals such as Witness, Gulf Coast and Meridian. Born in Lahore, Pakistan, and raised in the United Arab Emirates, she holds an MFA from the University of Houston where she was an Inprint C. Glenn Cambor Fellow, and an MS from the University of Oregon.Follow Diverse Voices Book Review on Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com  

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Elizabeth MacBride, co-author with Seth Levine of CAPITAL EVOLUTION: The New American Economy.  In the interview MacBride explores how the evolution of capitalism in America has led to systemic inequalities, discusses the impact of shareholder primacy and neoliberalism, and highlights the need for reforms that restore the middle class, promote shared ownership, and address challenges like CEO pay, and environmental externalities.Elizabeth MacBride is a journalist, author and consultant in finance, women’s rights, and technology. She is an advocate for a fair, accessible financial system and policies that support women's economic power. She has written or edited for Quartz, Forbes Magazine, The Atlantic, Stanford Business Magazine, CNBC, BBC, Newsweek, and many others, and is the coauthor of two previous books: The Little Book of Robo Investing and The New Builders.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @div

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay and contributor Maya Hay interviewed Mona Awad, author of the novel WE LOVE YOU, BUNNY, the prequel-sequel to her 2019 novel BUNNY. WE LOVE YOU BUNNY is a darkly comic thriller set in the world of an elite MFA program, where a successful young author is kidnapped by her former classmates and forced to hear their point of view of the account of secret rituals, monstrous creations, and dark academia originally spun in BUNNY. In the interview Awad discussed her evolving approach to character development, deepening the inner lives of her creations by exploring their insecurities and perspectives through multiple viewpoints. She described how the novel draws on fairy tale symbolism and personal experiences to highlight the tension between external expectations and creative freedom.Mona Awad is the bestselling author of the novels Rouge, All’s Well, Bunny, and 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl. She is a three-time finalist for a Goodreads Choice Award, the recipient of an

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Chaitali Sen interviewed Gemini Wahhaj, author of the short story collection KATY FAMILY. In the conversation, they discussed the inspirations and themes behind the short story collection, exploring the complexities of immigrant life in Houston, the interplay of personal experience and social critique, and the role of discomfort and humor in storytelling. They delved into how setting, character flaws, and cultural dynamics shape the stories, while also reflecting on the challenges and beauty of the short story form.Gemini Wahaj is also the author of the novel, THE CHILDREN OF THIS MADNESS. She has a Phd in creative writing from the University of Houston, where she received the James A. Michener Award for fiction.Chaitali Sen is the author of the novel, THE PATHLESS SKY, and the short story collection, A NEW RACE OF MEN FROM HEAVEN.