Literature & Fiction
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Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta
In this "razor-sharp" and "dangerously hilarious" novel that "hooks readers from the beginning" (Los Angeles Times), a trans woman reenters life on the outside after more than twenty years in a men's prison, over one consequential Fourth of July weekend-from the author of the PEN/Faulkner Award winner Delicious Foods.
Carlotta Mercedes has been misunderstood her entire life. When she was pulled into a robbery gone wrong, she still went by the name she'd grown up with in Fort Greene, Brooklyn-before it gentrified. But not long after her conviction, she took the name Carlotta and began to live as a woman, an embrace of selfhood that prison authorities rejected, keeping Carlotta trapped in an all-male cell block, abused by both inmates and guards, and often placed in solitary.
In her fifth appearance before the parole board, Carlotta is at last granted conditional freedom and returns to a much-changed New York City. Over a whirlwind Fourth of July weekend, she struggles to reconcile with the son she left behind, to reunite with a family reluctant to accept her true identity, and to avoid any minor parole infraction that might get her consigned back to lockup.
Written with the same astonishing verve of Delicious Foods, which dazzled critics and readers alike, Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta sweeps the reader through seemingly every street of Brooklyn, much as Joyce's Ulysses does through Dublin. The novel sings with brio and ambition, delivering a fantastically entertaining read and a cast of unforgettable characters even as it challenges us to confront the glaring injustices of a prison system that continues to punish people long after their time has been served.
Carlotta Mercedes has been misunderstood her entire life. When she was pulled into a robbery gone wrong, she still went by the name she'd grown up with in Fort Greene, Brooklyn-before it gentrified. But not long after her conviction, she took the name Carlotta and began to live as a woman, an embrace of selfhood that prison authorities rejected, keeping Carlotta trapped in an all-male cell block, abused by both inmates and guards, and often placed in solitary.
In her fifth appearance before the parole board, Carlotta is at last granted conditional freedom and returns to a much-changed New York City. Over a whirlwind Fourth of July weekend, she struggles to reconcile with the son she left behind, to reunite with a family reluctant to accept her true identity, and to avoid any minor parole infraction that might get her consigned back to lockup.
Written with the same astonishing verve of Delicious Foods, which dazzled critics and readers alike, Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta sweeps the reader through seemingly every street of Brooklyn, much as Joyce's Ulysses does through Dublin. The novel sings with brio and ambition, delivering a fantastically entertaining read and a cast of unforgettable characters even as it challenges us to confront the glaring injustices of a prison system that continues to punish people long after their time has been served.
Editorial Reviews
Praise for Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta:
"Razor-sharp . . . A hilarious, righteous transgender remix of The Odyssey . . . Carlotta's bold voice hooks readers from the beginning, making them willing ride-or-dies . . . Hannaham hasn't merely given the classics an update; he has given readers an unforgettable glimpse into the injustices the carceral system heaps on women like Carlotta-and deftly made space in literature for a distinctive voice that deserves a place in the modern literary pantheon."―Los Angeles Times
"Captivating . . . Hannaham's bumper-car narrative astonishes . . . Carlotta is irrepressible. No matter how much the prison system has abused her, regardless of the coldblooded stipulations of her parole, she is brave enough to be guided by the woman inside her tireless heart . . . At a time when families with trans and gay children feel persecuted by state governments, Hannaham makes Carlotta heroic. Don't let the title of this wondrous novel fool you. Hannaham cares deeply about Carlotta. From a mash-up of perspectives, he writes like a guardian angel."―John Irving, New York Times Book Review
"Hannaham's buoyant sophomore novel introduces us to the unforgettable Carlotta Mercedes, an Afro-Latinx trans woman released from a men's prison after serving two decades… Over the course of one zany Fourth of July weekend, Carlotta descends into Brooklyn's roiling underbelly on a quest to stand in her truth. Angry, saucy, and joyful, Carlotta is a true survivor-one whose story shines a disinfecting light on the injustices of our world."―Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire
"Searing and often hilarious."―New York Magazine
"[Carlotta] the bold, brash, and bitingly hilarious protagonist, seeks to come to terms with the Fort Greene, Brooklyn that she left behind. Hannaham's novel has drawn comparisons to Ulysses with its style, specificity, and snapshot framing."―Laura Zornosa, Time
"Hilarious and heartbreaking, with language that reaches for your throat . . . With an unforgettable voice, Hannaham takes on gentrification, the prison and parole system, and more."―Xochitl Gonzalez, The Atlantic
"We were big fans of James Hannaham's previous novel Delicious Foods… T...
"Razor-sharp . . . A hilarious, righteous transgender remix of The Odyssey . . . Carlotta's bold voice hooks readers from the beginning, making them willing ride-or-dies . . . Hannaham hasn't merely given the classics an update; he has given readers an unforgettable glimpse into the injustices the carceral system heaps on women like Carlotta-and deftly made space in literature for a distinctive voice that deserves a place in the modern literary pantheon."―Los Angeles Times
"Captivating . . . Hannaham's bumper-car narrative astonishes . . . Carlotta is irrepressible. No matter how much the prison system has abused her, regardless of the coldblooded stipulations of her parole, she is brave enough to be guided by the woman inside her tireless heart . . . At a time when families with trans and gay children feel persecuted by state governments, Hannaham makes Carlotta heroic. Don't let the title of this wondrous novel fool you. Hannaham cares deeply about Carlotta. From a mash-up of perspectives, he writes like a guardian angel."―John Irving, New York Times Book Review
"Hannaham's buoyant sophomore novel introduces us to the unforgettable Carlotta Mercedes, an Afro-Latinx trans woman released from a men's prison after serving two decades… Over the course of one zany Fourth of July weekend, Carlotta descends into Brooklyn's roiling underbelly on a quest to stand in her truth. Angry, saucy, and joyful, Carlotta is a true survivor-one whose story shines a disinfecting light on the injustices of our world."―Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire
"Searing and often hilarious."―New York Magazine
"[Carlotta] the bold, brash, and bitingly hilarious protagonist, seeks to come to terms with the Fort Greene, Brooklyn that she left behind. Hannaham's novel has drawn comparisons to Ulysses with its style, specificity, and snapshot framing."―Laura Zornosa, Time
"Hilarious and heartbreaking, with language that reaches for your throat . . . With an unforgettable voice, Hannaham takes on gentrification, the prison and parole system, and more."―Xochitl Gonzalez, The Atlantic
"We were big fans of James Hannaham's previous novel Delicious Foods… T...
Readers Top Reviews
readerreaderreader
This is one of the most exciting, original, wonderful novels I've read in years. Carlotta Mercedes is a character I'm so glad to have met, and whom I will never ever forget. Very highly recommended!
Read-A-Lot
Quite an experience. Wild. Hilarious. Unconventional. Saucy. The rules of writing are being absolutely obliterated in this uncategorizable crazy tale of Carlotta Mercedes née Dustin Chambers. Just flat out different in not only the way the story is revealed but the style of writing. There are point of view changes within paragraphs, hell sometimes in the same sentence. Going from first-person to third-person with a quick turn. There are the phonetic spelling of words, which will drive language purists crazy. “You couldn’t look at no boring-ass caterpillar and recanize the gorgeous butterfly that it done become after, right?” If you come to this book with an open mind and can be a nonconformist for a few hours then you will get a good solid tale of a struggle to live one’s truth. And you will meet an array of odd characters as witnesses to Carlotta’s fight to be free, in every sense of the word. Not giving plot summary as the blurb encircled the book quite decisively. I can definitely see this landing on best of year lists, just for the sheer hilarity and off the edge style of writing. This is a book not to be just read, but to be experienced. The title alone is unlike anything currently in the fiction market, it was the impetus for me to request this book. So, many thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown &Co. for an advanced DRC. Book lands everywhere on Aug. 30, 3022
