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booksamongstfriends's reviews
738 reviews
The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid
4.0
Mohsin Hamid's The Last White Man is a deeply thought-provoking novel that invites readers to reflect on the nature of race and identity. As with any book that provokes discussion, it sometimes touches on topics that not everyone is comfortable addressing. The story is told in a unique style, with long, run-on sentences that seem deliberate, mirroring the blending and shifting of identities that the characters experience.
The protagonist, Anders, wakes up to find his skin has turned dark, a change that soon affects others in society. This transformation challenges the characters' perceptions of themselves and each other, bringing to the forefront the social construct of whiteness. The book subtly yet powerfully conveys that race is a social construct, focusing on the erosion of the concept of whiteness without delving deeply into specific ethnicities or blackness.
One of the novel's strengths is its exploration of loss, grief, and rage as the characters grapple with the disappearance of their whiteness. I didn’t see this as a book an erasure or physical vanishing of white people but rather the loss of their societal privileges and the shattering of their perceived identities. Characters like Oona’s mother and Anders’ father epitomize the struggle to cling to outdated belief systems as their world changes. Oona's mother, in particular, represents the segment of society that fights to maintain the status quo even as it crumbles around them.
The book’s narrative could have benefited from more perspectives from the already “dark” characters, providing a fuller picture of the societal shifts. Despite this, the story effectively illustrates how societal constructs of race can fall apart, leading to new forms of community and understanding. By the novel's end, some characters begin to deconstruct their views, finding joy and forming new bonds, suggesting that life and love can persist and even thrive amidst such profound changes.
Hamid’s novel challenges readers to consider what happens when the constructs of whiteness and race are removed. It suggests that the need to hold onto these constructs is tied to systemic oppression and privilege. The love between Anders and Oona, and the evolving relationship between Anders and his father, showcase the possibility of moving beyond these constructs towards genuine human connection.
IMO The Last White Man is a contemplative and timely novel that uses a speculative premise to explore deep-seated issues of race and identity. It's a short but impactful read that encourages reflection on societal norms and the true nature of identity.
The protagonist, Anders, wakes up to find his skin has turned dark, a change that soon affects others in society. This transformation challenges the characters' perceptions of themselves and each other, bringing to the forefront the social construct of whiteness. The book subtly yet powerfully conveys that race is a social construct, focusing on the erosion of the concept of whiteness without delving deeply into specific ethnicities or blackness.
One of the novel's strengths is its exploration of loss, grief, and rage as the characters grapple with the disappearance of their whiteness. I didn’t see this as a book an erasure or physical vanishing of white people but rather the loss of their societal privileges and the shattering of their perceived identities. Characters like Oona’s mother and Anders’ father epitomize the struggle to cling to outdated belief systems as their world changes. Oona's mother, in particular, represents the segment of society that fights to maintain the status quo even as it crumbles around them.
The book’s narrative could have benefited from more perspectives from the already “dark” characters, providing a fuller picture of the societal shifts. Despite this, the story effectively illustrates how societal constructs of race can fall apart, leading to new forms of community and understanding. By the novel's end, some characters begin to deconstruct their views, finding joy and forming new bonds, suggesting that life and love can persist and even thrive amidst such profound changes.
Hamid’s novel challenges readers to consider what happens when the constructs of whiteness and race are removed. It suggests that the need to hold onto these constructs is tied to systemic oppression and privilege. The love between Anders and Oona, and the evolving relationship between Anders and his father, showcase the possibility of moving beyond these constructs towards genuine human connection.
IMO The Last White Man is a contemplative and timely novel that uses a speculative premise to explore deep-seated issues of race and identity. It's a short but impactful read that encourages reflection on societal norms and the true nature of identity.
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
4.0
I love books that shine a light on topics most people don’t know about, and this book does exactly that.
This was the first book I read by this author, and I am so glad I chose it. The novel is not only a reckoning for all that happened at the real-life Dozier School for Boys but also a harrowing look into the very real-life pain that one does not escape from. The even sadder truth is how our version of justice often never comes, how freedom can be at the hands of violence, and how sometimes the only way to get to the truth is with patience.
When you read these pages, you will be boiling with rage, as I was, to find another part of history left to be buried and forgotten. Just boys. What’s so infuriating is the reality that many parts of today’s modern juvenile system echo the structures within this book. While Elwood and Turner are fictional characters, their experiences with arrest and within the Nickel Academy are very real, haunting, disgusting, and terrifying.
“Problem was, even if you avoided trouble, trouble might reach out and snatch you anyway. Another student might sniff out a weakness and start something, one of the staff dislikes your smile.”
Elwood’s adherence to the principles of Martin Luther King Jr. is so deliberate. He so badly wants to believe in these principles, being the straight-and-narrow kid who gets caught up in the system, and ultimately ends up being this guiding light for Turner. This constant reminder of being damned if you do, damned if you don’t, because there’s no structure to a violent system.
“Violence is the only lever big enough to move the world.”
Whitehead shows us pain, friendship, isolation, racism, abuse, survival, trauma, PTSD, and brotherhood. This book is a powerful, emotional journey that unearths the buried truths of a brutal history and reflects on its lingering impacts on the present.
“Perhaps Nickel was the very afterlife that awaited him, with a White House down the hill and an eternity of oatmeal and an infinite brotherhood broken boys”
This was the first book I read by this author, and I am so glad I chose it. The novel is not only a reckoning for all that happened at the real-life Dozier School for Boys but also a harrowing look into the very real-life pain that one does not escape from. The even sadder truth is how our version of justice often never comes, how freedom can be at the hands of violence, and how sometimes the only way to get to the truth is with patience.
When you read these pages, you will be boiling with rage, as I was, to find another part of history left to be buried and forgotten. Just boys. What’s so infuriating is the reality that many parts of today’s modern juvenile system echo the structures within this book. While Elwood and Turner are fictional characters, their experiences with arrest and within the Nickel Academy are very real, haunting, disgusting, and terrifying.
“Problem was, even if you avoided trouble, trouble might reach out and snatch you anyway. Another student might sniff out a weakness and start something, one of the staff dislikes your smile.”
Elwood’s adherence to the principles of Martin Luther King Jr. is so deliberate. He so badly wants to believe in these principles, being the straight-and-narrow kid who gets caught up in the system, and ultimately ends up being this guiding light for Turner. This constant reminder of being damned if you do, damned if you don’t, because there’s no structure to a violent system.
“Violence is the only lever big enough to move the world.”
Whitehead shows us pain, friendship, isolation, racism, abuse, survival, trauma, PTSD, and brotherhood. This book is a powerful, emotional journey that unearths the buried truths of a brutal history and reflects on its lingering impacts on the present.
“Perhaps Nickel was the very afterlife that awaited him, with a White House down the hill and an eternity of oatmeal and an infinite brotherhood broken boys”