The Talk

By: Darrin Bell

Narrated by: Brittany Bradford, Darrin Bell, Emyree Zazu Bell, William DeMeritt

"The audiobook version of The Talk,...isn’t a graphic novel stripped of its pictures; it’s a radio play that delivers its own powerful aural experience. The production employs music, subtle sound effects and a cast that includes Bell and his little boy. The charming humor and incisive wisdom that elevates the print version of 'The Talk' are amply conveyed by these narrators in an audiobook that’s clearly been designed from the bottom up to exploit the format’s unique advantages. For some listeners, this will be a deeply personal experience; for others, an illuminating lesson in empathy. But no matter who you are, you’re ready to have “The Talk."—The Washington Post

“In its audio translation, the highlight is Darrin Bell’s storytelling ability, enriched by a soundscape that includes music, sound effects, and archival audio...a powerhouse audio that should be widely recommended.”—Booklist (Starred Review)

This program features multicast narration.

Winner of the NAACP Image Award in Outstanding Graphic Novels
Winner of the Libby Award for Best Comic/Graphic Novel of the Year
Nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Graphic Memoir
Named The Year's Best Graphic Novel by Publishers Weekly
Named one of Publishers Weekly's Top Ten Best Books of 2023
Named one of NPR's Books We Love
Named one of Kirkus' Best 2023 Books
Named one of the Washington Post's 10 best graphic novels of 2023
One of TIME Magazine's Must-Read Books of the Year
Shortlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction 2024
Booklist Editors' Choice: Graphic Novels, 2023
New York Public Library's Best New Comics of 2023 Top Ten Pick
Chicago Public Library's Best Books of 2023 Top Ten Pick
Named one of School Library Journal's Best Graphic Novels of 2023
Named one of The Guardian's Best Graphic Novels of 2023

Darrin Bell was six years old when his mother told him he couldn’t have a realistic water gun. She said she feared for his safety, that police tend to think of little Black boys as older and less innocent than they really are.

In this immersive audiobook adaptation—with wall-to-wall sound design, an expansive music soundtrack, and full-cast narration including the author and his son—Bell uses his sharp humor to examine how The Talk shaped intimate and public moments from childhood to adulthood. While coming of age in Los Angeles—and finding a voice through cartooning—Bell becomes painfully aware of being regarded as dangerous by white teachers, neighbors, and police officers and thus of his mortality. Drawing attention to the brutal murders of African Americans and showcasing revealing insights and cartoons along the way, he brings us up to the moment of reckoning when people took to the streets protesting the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. And now Bell must decide whether he and his own six-year-old son are ready to have The Talk.

"In The Talk, Bell combines the overtly personal and the sociopolitical in a textured autobiography that blends raw honestly, moving memories and powerful insights on race and police relations.”—The Washington Post

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.

©2023 Darrin Bell (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

Winner of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation Award

ALA Alex Award Winner (2024)

Finalist for the National Cartoonists Society’s Graphic Novel Award

New York Times, “14 Nonfiction Books to Read This Summer“

Los Angeles Times, “10 June books for your reading list“

The Root, “A Supersized List of June 2023 Books By Black Authors We Can't Wait to Read“

St. Louis Post Dispatch, “40 New Titles to Make Summer Vacation More Fun“

In Between Drafts, “Best New Books of June“

The Messenger, “Here Are the Best Books to Read This June“

Shelf Awareness, “10 Best Nonfiction Adult Titles“

Publishers Lunch, “The Best of the Best Books of 2023“

Minneapolis Star Tribune, “40 Great Books to Get You or Someone on Your Gift List Through the Winter“

“A moving portrait . . . funny and touching, intellectually and emotionally stimulating. There’s pride and prejudice, family drama, and a love story. I loved this book. You will too.”―Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling

“A Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist draws on his childhood in Los Angeles to explore racism on a deeply personal level. There’s a poignancy, too, in the cyclical nature of the story: Bell, now a father, is wrestling with the same questions his own parents face."—New York Times

“Propulsive reading, drawn with urgency and verve. Once you pick up The Talk, you won’t be able to put it down.”—Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home and The Secret to Superhuman Strength