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supernines's review against another edition
5.0
I feel like everyone should read this book. What a clear and thoughtful examination of what race means in America and how that colors the immigrant experience. Love love love.
yourlocalbookreader's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars
This brilliant part memoir part manifesto follows Sharmilla as she goes from being part of the majority religious ethnic group to a minority in the USA. What follows is 200 pages of what it means to be an immigrant, what it means to assimilate and the difference between a POC and "Not White". Highly recommend this to everyone.
I could write a review. But these quotes say more than I ever could.
Why do blackface and brownface bother me? Because I have been wearing whiteface for so long. (xii)
... I have spent many decades carefully arranging my words, my gestures, my clothes, and my surroundings so that I do not appear threatening, unnatural, or ungrateful. (xv-xvi)
I did not want to be perceived as the ungrateful immigrant who does not pass her naturalization examination, the unnatural woman who is never promoted at work or paid a salary equal to that of her white male counterparts. (xvi)
I got race the way people get chicken pox. I also got race as one gets a pair of shoes or a cell phone. It was something new, something to be tried on for size, something to be used to communicate with others. In another register, I finally got race, in the idiomatic American sense of fully comprehending something. (xxvi)
A truly dominant group is unthreatened by minority cultures as long as they can be domesticated, consumed, transformed into an accessory, a condiment, a bit of swag. (24)
Privilege is a peculiar possession. To those who possess it, privilege is weightless, tasteless, odorless, soundless, and colorless. Those who have the least access to it are painfully aware of its mass, density, taste, odor, texture, sound, and color. When I first came to the United States and suddenly became a minority, I felt the weight of a peculiar kind of visibility. Now I could not shake my awareness of the constant expenditure of energy required in everyday life when social privilege is taken away. (145-146)
I avoided watching movies about India ... with white Americans. The sincere conversations ... were dreadful for me. I was expected to discuss human rights, the poverty of slums, the plight of untouchables, child marriage, and widow burning. I had to play the native informant, as well as the assimilated immigrant. ... my cheeks hurt from smiling through it all. (159)
Having been a young immigrant, I already knew that real power lies in being so dominant that you need not be named. The normal needs no name, no special qualifier. (173)
Asian was a geographic term when I lived in Asia. In the United States, I learned that Asian is a racial category. No one can call themselves a person of color without implicitly seeing their color against a backdrop of whiteness. (177)
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This brilliant part memoir part manifesto follows Sharmilla as she goes from being part of the majority religious ethnic group to a minority in the USA. What follows is 200 pages of what it means to be an immigrant, what it means to assimilate and the difference between a POC and "Not White". Highly recommend this to everyone.
I could write a review. But these quotes say more than I ever could.
Why do blackface and brownface bother me? Because I have been wearing whiteface for so long. (xii)
... I have spent many decades carefully arranging my words, my gestures, my clothes, and my surroundings so that I do not appear threatening, unnatural, or ungrateful. (xv-xvi)
I did not want to be perceived as the ungrateful immigrant who does not pass her naturalization examination, the unnatural woman who is never promoted at work or paid a salary equal to that of her white male counterparts. (xvi)
I got race the way people get chicken pox. I also got race as one gets a pair of shoes or a cell phone. It was something new, something to be tried on for size, something to be used to communicate with others. In another register, I finally got race, in the idiomatic American sense of fully comprehending something. (xxvi)
A truly dominant group is unthreatened by minority cultures as long as they can be domesticated, consumed, transformed into an accessory, a condiment, a bit of swag. (24)
Privilege is a peculiar possession. To those who possess it, privilege is weightless, tasteless, odorless, soundless, and colorless. Those who have the least access to it are painfully aware of its mass, density, taste, odor, texture, sound, and color. When I first came to the United States and suddenly became a minority, I felt the weight of a peculiar kind of visibility. Now I could not shake my awareness of the constant expenditure of energy required in everyday life when social privilege is taken away. (145-146)
I avoided watching movies about India ... with white Americans. The sincere conversations ... were dreadful for me. I was expected to discuss human rights, the poverty of slums, the plight of untouchables, child marriage, and widow burning. I had to play the native informant, as well as the assimilated immigrant. ... my cheeks hurt from smiling through it all. (159)
Having been a young immigrant, I already knew that real power lies in being so dominant that you need not be named. The normal needs no name, no special qualifier. (173)
Asian was a geographic term when I lived in Asia. In the United States, I learned that Asian is a racial category. No one can call themselves a person of color without implicitly seeing their color against a backdrop of whiteness. (177)
Find me on: instagram
moneyispizza's review
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
“Privilege is a peculiar possession. To those who possess it, privilege is weightless, tasteless, odorless, soundless, and colorless. Those who have the least access to it are painfully aware of its mass, density, taste, odor, texture, sound, and color.”
In this book, Sen writes about her experience as an emigrant from Calcutta. A unique and clever look at race, privilege, and whiteness.
I really loved the beginning of this memoir. During the middle chapters, I thought her arguments weren't quite as focused, or engaging. The last chapter was my favorite of the entire book - incredibly well-written.
In this book, Sen writes about her experience as an emigrant from Calcutta. A unique and clever look at race, privilege, and whiteness.
I really loved the beginning of this memoir. During the middle chapters, I thought her arguments weren't quite as focused, or engaging. The last chapter was my favorite of the entire book - incredibly well-written.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
katymm's review against another edition
4.0
Sen narrates her journey from a very privileged life in India to that of a minority immigrant in Massachusetts. From the age of 12, race becomes a part of her life as she struggles to navigate the confusing journey to “becoming an American” with her foreign accent betraying her light skin. Not Quite, Not White is part personal history and part academic treatise, and while I wish it were a bit less academic, that doesn't diminish the importance of what Sen has to say.
A highlight is the section in which Sen talks about how male British travelers and explorers have historically “gone native” by appropriating the dress / culture of places like India, the Middle East, etc., and how these men derived power from the fact that they weren't actually “not white.” Sen casts “going native” as something that only white men can do, as they can slip back into their original privilege whenever convenient.
Overall, I really appreciated how thought-provoking this book was.
A highlight is the section in which Sen talks about how male British travelers and explorers have historically “gone native” by appropriating the dress / culture of places like India, the Middle East, etc., and how these men derived power from the fact that they weren't actually “not white.” Sen casts “going native” as something that only white men can do, as they can slip back into their original privilege whenever convenient.
Overall, I really appreciated how thought-provoking this book was.
shelbymccarty's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Not Quite, Not White was an interesting discussion on race with the main point being a reminder that race is an American invention. Sharmila Sen discusses how she “got race” when she moved to America and how ambiguous race is when it comes to individuals who aren’t white or black. She also recalls her experiences with class, passing, and finally acceptance of her non-whiteness. Informative!