Reviews tagging 'Racism'

I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett

6 reviews

shay43geek's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Cultural appropriation, and Racism

Moderate: Slavery, Police brutality, Sexual content, Torture, and Sexual violence

cmcrockford's review

challenging dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Politically incorrect, shaggy, extremely funny. One of the best reads I've had in a minute even when Everett tilts into caricature. The climax is an incredible narrative trick.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Car accident, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Cursing, Confinement, Slavery, Police brutality, Death of parent, Infidelity, Gore, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism

rmperezpadilla's review

adventurous funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This was an absolute trip. It wasn't until maybe a quarter to a third of the way through that something clicked for me -- before that, I was amused if not quite following and beginning to wonder what the point was, and I think it was the philosophy of nonsense that turned it around for me. The whole last half really sang for me. (I finished it in a day.) I haven't read any of Everett's other novels, but they'll absolutely be on my list. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Slavery

julianfromme's review

funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Racial slurs, and Racism

margaret45678's review

dark funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

My understanding of this book was probably hampered by the fact that I've never seen a Sidney Poitier movie. Pleasantly surreal while still grounded in real social dynamics and problems. Sort of reminded me of Murakami in that the narrator is weirdly detached from many of the things which happen around and to him, though since his identity is based on the negation of someone else's (i.e., Sidney Poitier's)

until the very end, that is

 I guess his detachment makes sense. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Violence

hyperchaoschidi's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, and Police brutality

I don't think I will ever fully understand a Percival Everett book. And yet the attempt to do so is always a fascinating one. I am Not Sidney Poitier follows Not Sidney on an adventure to figure things out.

He drives through the south and is promptly arrested for being black. He goes to college, gets a girlfriend, and discovers that his girlfriend's family see everything in terms of color. He goes to the south again and finds himself murdered.

Every scene feels as absurd as the class he takes from Professor Everett. Some of the conversations feel as though they were spliced from a random subset of dialogues. And yet, in true Everett fashion, I couldn't stop reading. I'm extremely puzzled still, and yet there is much to ponder. Recommend if you want a complex, absurdist adventure.