Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Haley Scholars (Group 4) Challenges reading Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

[Haley Reading Groups Spring 2022]

This semester, we read five stories -- "The Finkelstein 5," "The Era," "Zimmer Land," "Friday Black," "In Retail" -- by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah from his collection Friday Black

The stories gave us a wide range of situations and circumstances to consider. A scenario where black folks seek brutal vengeance. A future society where humans removed emotions. An amusement park where people role play racist, deadly acts. And more.  
 
1. In a sentence, which story did you most enjoy and why?   

2. What did you view as one main challenge reading the stories? 

51 comments:

Paul Olubodun said...

The story I enjoyed the most was Friday Black because the author told the story in an exaggerated way but I can also see bits of the story happening in real life.
The main challenge of reading the stories was trying to figure out what the author was trying to convey sometimes.

Valarie M said...

The story I enjoyed the most was "In Retail" because I can connect to working in retail and the feeling that it gives off as a worker. In the story, I viewed everything that was happening as a challenge because in retail the way that customers treat you is depressing, and the fact that the boss or the person in charge of the business sees what goes on but still chooses to pick the customers side over the employee is also mind-blowing. - Valarie M

Anonymous said...

My favorite is Zimmer Land because it had related to things we deal with in today society’s. The hardest part was reading these stories and relating to them because it happens in real life, and nothing has really changed for us.
-La’Raye Littlepage

Anonymous said...

The story I enjoyed the most was "Friday Black" because of the extent to which it exaggerated a big event that happens every year in our society. I think the most challenging thing about reading these stories is the realization that they share a lot of similarities with our own society.

-Dayevion M

Jarrod Rhodes said...

The story I enjoyed the most was Friday Black.
The most challenging story was The Finkelstein 5.

Jarrod Rhodes

Anonymous said...

The story I found the most enjoyable was “The Finkelstein 5” story, because when Emmanuel was out in public he was able to pinpoint every little attire that made his blackness go up.
One main challenge I drew from this story was that he had to monitor himself in order to keep track of how much he exposed himself to the outside world or society.


-Kevyere Mack

Anonymous said...

The story I enjoyed the most was Zimmerland and the challenging story was In retail.
-Audriahna Macklin

cameron kellogg said...

The story I found the most interesting was Zimmerland, because of how dark I could be.

Amarie McCleary said...


I enjoyed "In Retail" the most because it showed a different side of retail that I've never experienced or heard of. Ive heard from many people that retail is one of the most excruciating jobs to have now of days but I never thought people ended their lives because of a job in retail or a job period.

One of the main challenges I experienced while reading the stories was the fact that the author made the stories seem satire & fantasy-like but most of the stories he experienced first hand in real life or could potentially happen in real life.

-Amarie McCleary

Alexis Price said...

I most enjoyed Black Friday because some of the things that happened in that story actually happen in real life Black Friday is usually a sale when everyone is going crazy .

Amir Madison said...

The story I enjoyed the most was "In Retail" because I was able to connect the story to my personal life since I work in retail; also, I would sometimes put myself in the characters shoes and ask myself what I would do in a particular situation. One of the main challeneges I had when I first began reading the book was trying to figure the motive behind the author wanting to write a book like this.

Jania M. said...

The story that I enjoyed the most was Friday Black, since the author described the story in so many ways that I could never realize how black Friday is in our society, and it happens every year.
One of the most difficult aspects of reading these stories for me is figuring out what is going on throughout the story and realizing that it covers a wide range of issues in our society. - Jania M

Britney Wallace said...

One main benefit I found from reading the stories was seeing how closely the plots of the stories aligned to many situations and events in everyday society; it helped draw closer awareness to specific racial issues. The most challenging aspect of reading these stories was seeing how some events such as the ones in "The Finkelstein 5”, could one day become a reality.
- Britney Wallace

Makiah Lewis said...

The story I enjoyed or found interesting the most was "In Retail" because I could relate to it the most. The thing I found challenging while reading these is how true and realistic they seemed to be. n

-Makiah Lewis

Ryan Parham said...

I enjoyed "In Retail" because I could relate to the story since I worked in retail. The thing I found most challenging is how dark but realistic the readings are.

Leea S. said...

I found "In Retail" the most enjoyable and interesting because I could really relate to a lot of it. I think what was challenging about it was how real and true it was.

Jordan W. said...

1. In a sentence, which story did you most enjoy and why?

I would say that I enjoyed the retail story the most because it gave me a perspective of what it really is like to work in retail for people. I have been in food services since I started working so I never knew anything about retail as much.

2. What did you view as one main challenge in reading the stories?

I view one of the most challenges is the way that the author made some of the stories because I'm not used to reading this kind of genre.

Sierrea McNiff said...

I enjoyed "The Finkelstein 5" the most because I like how the story jumps from the court case and the events after the deaths of the innocent children. What I found difficult about reading these stories was how much they match our daily lives as African Americans trying to survive in America.

Destiny Moore said...

The story that I enjoyed the most was Zimmerland because of the realism of how everything was when it mentioned the simulation of murdering black teens. That is something that happens in real life as well.

-Destiny Moore

Isiah Miller said...

1. I enjoyed "Friday Black" the most because I thought it was the most bizarre one and interesting to read.
2. The main challenge for me was realizing that these stories are just exaggerated events of our actual lives. All of these stories are true on a lesser scale.

Dakahi Leflore said...

The story I enjoyed the most is the "In Retail" one because its something that a lot of people can relate and know things about. I think the most challenging thing while reading this story was how the author made it because I'm not used to reading stories like this.

-Dakahi L

Lauren M said...

1. I enjoyed the story "Friday Black" the most because it was super interesting and it showed how materialistic people can be.
2. The most challenging thing about the reading was how real it was, especially the Finkelstein 5". It was hard to see to read about the injustices we experience on a daily.
-Lauren Morgan

Chris Rhodes said...

The story I enjoyed the most was “Friday Black” because I related to it the most because I’ve been to Black Friday before. Also, it’s interesting how the concept of this story could happen in real life. One main challenge I had while reading these stories was finding the time in my schedule to actually complete the assignments on time!
- Chris Rhodes

Nyah Marcano said...

I enjoyed the "Frankinstine 5" the most, this is because of the amount of deatil this story contained, and stuck with me the most out of all of the rest of the short stories.The most challenging part of Black Friday was how grusome some of the stories where, I atribute this to making the story more realalistic but at some points it just became a bit much.
-Nyah Marcano

Jalen Q. said...

The story that I enjoyed the most would be "In Retail" because of the way that it portrays working in retail. The main challenge was actually understanding what the author was trying to say with the story.

Kizito Nwauwa said...

The story that I personally enjoyed the most from Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was The Era, even though it was set in a dystopian-like future. It gave an interesting scenario to consider, kind of like those “What If” situations that everybody imagines. That story did not fail to keep me engaged in the reading. One challenge that I did run into during the reading was trying to understand the context with it being very figurative at times. There were robust descriptions present but sometimes it took a while to comprehend the actual matter of the plot.

--Kizito Nwauwa

Rashad Pipkins said...

The story that I enjoyed the most is "Friday Black" because it seemed the most relatable to me. The most challenging thing however was understanding the ways that the authors would convey messages through the text.

Marquis P said...

One of the stories I enjoyed most from this book would have to be The Finklestein 5. I found this story in particular very compelling and could relate to the character in some ways. The main challenge reading the stories, I suppose, was the shock value it gave at times.

Omari Riley said...

The story I enjoyed the most is "In Retail" because of the message is conveys about the struggle of retail workers and shining light on those issues


-Omari Riley

Martaejia Murphy said...

The story I liked the most was “in retail” . I say this because I can really connect with with the retail situation, after working in retail before .

Devin Perry said...

Out of all the stories I feel the one that I enjoyed the most was Friday Black. I like how it approached Black Friday and all the issues that come along with it and society.
I feel that the hardest thing was trying to find some of the author hidden messages as they covered normal everyday experiences.

-Devin P

Unknown said...

The story I found the most interesting was "Friday Black" because of how relatable it was to the real world. On Black Friday it does seem like we are in an apocalypse because everyone is going crazy and acting like it's the end of the world if they didn't what they wanted. My challenge was reading the stories and seeing African American people going through struggles worse than others and having to deal with it daily in many different ways.

-Sydney Witherspoon

Devin Perry said...

The story that I enjoyed the most was Friday Black. I enjoyed reading about the something that participate in and all the issue that come along with it.
I feel that the most challenging thing was finding out the author's hidden meanings behind what they was saying as they discussed everyday issues in everyday situations.

-Devin P

Jason Newman said...

The story I enjoyed the most was "In Retail" because many people, including me, can relate to the atmosphere of retail jobs. The hardest part of reading these stories was realizing a lot of these stories could happen in real life.

Josiah Olden said...

The story that I enjoyed the most was "In Retail" because of how the author used an apocalyptic setting to describe a normal event that happens once a year. I thought it was a very interesting take on Black Friday. The most challenging part about reading this book was the mentioning of kids being trampled over by psychopathic adults buying mark-down items.

Trista Mazyun said...

the story i enjoyed reading the most was "In Retail" because it showed how dark working in retail can actually be and i could relate to that one the most.
The most challenging thing about the readings was how dark they were.
-Trista M

Akuchukwu O. said...

The story I enjoyed the most was "In Retail" because it clearly depicted how working in retail really is. The challenge in working in retail is realizing how sad and true it is because it is still happening in our modern society.

Jercura K. said...

The story that I enjoyed the most was The Finkelstein 5 because it went into the most detail and had a particularly interested storyline with the killing of innocent children.
The most difficult part about reading the stories would be the realism they have and how many people can relate to the stories in multiple different ways.

-Jercura K.

Ciaunna M. said...

The story I enjoyed the most was Friday Black because although it was over-exaggerated sometimes it was very relatable. The hard part was knowing that these stories are realistic and relatable. - Ciaunna M

Erin Myers said...

Sophina K.:

The Story I enjoyed reading the most was "The Era" because it was a bit distorted and hard to understand but was also interesting and fun enough to be immersed into. The way the characters were communicating and acting toward one another will forever catch me of guard. The most challenging thing was how relatable parts of those stories were and that on some occasions, things were true and has happened in reality.

Erin Myers said...

Taniah P.:

In the book of Black Friday, I feel like the whole book itself has a message. To open our eyes to see what is going to happen or what did happen in the world. This was one of my favorite books that I have read in my life. I’m not gonna lie what really got me interested with this book is actually the first assignment that we have done the first 26 or more pages it was talking a lot and it was so deep. I’m not saying that the others wasn’t as deep as the first one, but what caught my eye The most was the beginning of the story.

Erin Myers said...

Tyra O.:

my favorite story was the Black Friday story.

Erin Myers said...

Kaylin P.:

My favorite story was the first one, the Finklestein 5 with Zimmer land being a close second. What I enjoyed the most about Finklestein 5 is the direction the story goes through. I love the narrative and the controversy. One main challenge was trying the concept of what was happening in these dystopian realities that each story.

Ian Lindsey said...

The story that I enjoyed the most was “Friday Black”. However, the most challenging read was “The Finkelstein 5” bexause of its nature and how true it is to today’s society.

-Ian L.

Meikiyia R. said...

The story that I liked the most was Zimmerland because it was something that was relatable and well known among the community. One of the hardest parts about reading these stories was wondering and/or knowing they were possibly based off of true events. -- Meikiyia R.

Unknown said...

The story I enjoyed the most would probably be Zimmerland because I understood it so much. Black people go through a lot because of a color. To me it's shallow and one of the most dumb forms of hatred but to others I'm a threat because I'm brown. Zimmerland was just another reminder along with all the other stories of black trauma. To me it wasn't any challenge reading these stories because it's based on real life. Like this is what black people really 0going through it's not new.. -Emyia Kirksey

Erin Myers said...

Leroy P.:

For me the "Retail" story was by far the favorite. I was able to relate to a certain extent to the story, due to my own experience in my retail job. One of the main challenges reading the stories, was that at some points of the stories were just shocking.

Erin Myers said...

Niate K.:

The story I enjoyed the most would have to be Zimmer Land. I enjoyed it the most because of how much detail went into the chapter. We watched a character change as the story unfolded. Especially, when he happened to be more of a reserved person at the beginning of the story, and then went on the offensive towards the end. I really liked that about that chapter. The main challenge of reading these stories was trying to decode someone of the authors unique wording sometimes. Essentially, it wasn’t always easy for me to understand what exactly he was trying to say all the time.

Vashanti Reynolds said...

It is hard for me to decide on my absolute favorite because I feel that "Friday Black" and "Retail" evenly engaged me due to personal experiences in the work place and shopping during the holidays. The whole idea of the darkness about both brought out the unknown.
The challenge of reading these is realizing that this stuff is very much accurate and not made up.

-Vashanti Reynolds

Erin Myers said...

Theon'Janae P.:

The story I enjoyed or found interesting the most was "In Retail" because I could relate to it the most due to having retail experience. What I found challenging while reading this is how true and realistic it seemed to be.

Erin Myers said...

Cierstin N.:

I liked the retail story the most since I have worked in jobs that I have not found fulfilling and I felt like I could really understand the emotions from the story because of that. I think the most challenging aspect of reading these stories was having to see some unfriendly truths said in the novel.