You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
When people are promoting books about anti-racism, I hope this one starts to get more attention. Even though it is set in the 1940s, it is still highly relevant to today. The story centers around Neil who goes searching for royal ancestry and finds something a bit more commonplace--a dark skinned ancestor. This revelation upends Neil's life as well as that of his family when it becomes public and former friends and colleagues suddenly object to his presence simply because they believe his race has changed. What I like best about this book is even the White "heroes" are shown to have prejudices and missteps, even when they are doing the right thing. Neil's wife Vestal stays be his side even when family and friends encourage her to leave...but still harbors fairly racist views. This inherent contradiction felt real to the people I know in life who can have both racist and anti-racist views and beliefs at the same time and have to consciously reject the racist stereotypes fed to us by society and the media. Definitely worth a read.
Although I find Sinclair Lewis to be a bit dry and without enough description, I enjoyed this book much more than Mainstreet. Typical white Minnesotan discovers he has African heritage and all hell breaks loose.
Lewis dares to say things I have heard...but would never put on paper. Good read.
Lewis dares to say things I have heard...but would never put on paper. Good read.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes