Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson

13 reviews

amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was slightly different than what is was expecting but not all bad. This was actually way easier to read than I thought it would be, and I see a lot of James Weldon Johnson actual music background incorporated in this story.

There were parts of this story that I thought got a little off track, just a few pacing issues. But overall I do believe that this novel is a necessary read for those wanting to read black American classics. However when is comes to the “passing” literature I do believe that other authors have maybe written the narrative better.

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gabbyac's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

I find myself in awe at how relevant this book is over 100 years since its original release. Where it could be very frightening to think about how little American culture has changed around the race questions, it's reassuring to know that these thoughts and feelings are nothing new and are well documented, even if people would like to say otherwise.

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solnit_and_sebastian's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Johnson's shrewd decision to publish his novel as an autobiography, rather than a work of informed fiction, likely lent credence to the account of one biracial man's self-concept and lessons learned as he became educated, traveled within the U.S.A. and across Europe, saw his profits fluctuate, and arrived at a personal identity. Johnson's novel addresses what he often refers to as "the race question" in America from the lens of an early twentieth century writer, and his insinuations are distressingly relevant today.

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runningonwords415's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to pick up this masterpiece. As a fan of INVISIBLE MAN, this book is definitely the original masterpiece to inspire future seminal works from authors of color. Super accessible and extremely profound, and absolutely applicable a century after its first publishing.

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beastzaies's review against another edition

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informative reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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manoushp109's review against another edition

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4.0

very good book, upset that it’s a factionalized account and not actually nonfiction even though it’s literally called autobiography. i think the internal conflict of a passing narrative is rly well reflected and i liked a lot of the characters even when they were just sides. also rly liked the focusing of him changing as he travels different places and also his musical career (and linguistic changes)

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