NYT Notable Books 2024: 5/100

An interesting and well-written account of race identity in the United States. It's wild to me to hear how little has changed in some ways since the Civil Rights movement, but also not shocking at the same time. I'm glad I read this fairly soon after Jonathan Eig's <i> King </i> since it meant that I came to this work with more of a foundation than I had before. Gates' focus on Black writers was a new subject that I knew little about and I found myself constantly surprised by what I was learning. I knew of some of the writers and works that were covered, but many were new to me. I wish that Gates had gone further into modern Black writers, since so many have had major impacts on modern literature.