Reviews

The Confession of Copeland Cane by Keenan Norris

jennareadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

The Confession of Copeland Cane by Keenan Norris was another Tournament of Books surprise. The surprise, for me, was that I hadn’t heard more about this book prior to the Tournament. This book follows Copeland Cane, a young fugitive, accused of an unknown-to-us crime, in a near-future post-Covid scenario where media conglomerate Soclear Broadcasting basically runs the government. The book is narrated mostly by Copeland as he tells his own coming-of-age story. Copeland grows up in a housing project in Oakland. He spends some time in juvenile detention before landing a spot at an isolated prep school as a token Black student. All the while he struggles to understand the cruelty of the world around him, and his place in it.

This book felt reminiscent of recent NBA winner Hell of a Book, because they both balance humor and solemnity to grapple with the topic of being a Black male in America in the age of police killings. The book is written in Copeland’s vernacular. I think audio is the way to go with this one - the narration was superb. If this sounds like one you would like, I’d recommend sticking with it. It didn’t grab me from the beginning, but at some point I found myself completely absorbed in Cope’s world and story.

yetanothersusan's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I am not sure if some of the insightful writing I found was actually insightful or accidental because it never seemed to be followed up on. Instead, this book is a meandering story leading up to something that felt incredibly anti-climactic because for all that leading up, the actual impact was very much understated. And, a bit funny, at one point it is said that the version being offered is a much condensed version. As though there was a lot more rambling the reader missed out on. So, rambling aside, and ridiculous eye-rolling inducing eulogy aside, this was an interesting book about how it felt a kid went from being a kid to being considered a wanted criminal without any real effort or action on his part. I also wonder how this story would be viewed from someone of a similar background to Cope. As a middle class middle age white woman, I have not experienced any of the situations Cope was faced with. And again, this takes me back to the intent of the writing. Did I read things in to the story on my own? Were there things there that I missed? It feels like it was somewhere in the middle and that is a hard place to be as a reader.

katalia's review

challenging dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

luckygreendress's review

challenging funny reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

mallorylocklear's review

dark 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? Yes

4.5

addison_reads's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

When I started this I was having a hard time with it. I felt disconnected from the main character and found myself drifting off while trying to read. I decided to switch to the audiobook and it definitely helped. Listening to Copeland's story made it feel as if he was just in the room talking to me and that made this book even more intense for me. 

Like other releases from 2021, this one deals with the pandemic and the BLM movement. The near-future setting was an interesting way of presenting things and I found Copeland to be a refreshing new voice in literature. Also, the dialogue, wordplay, and little nuances of the story really impressed me. 

imperfectcj's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.0

This is one of those novels that I found excellent when viewed close up but disappointing when viewed from a distance. I enjoyed the wordplay, dialogue, and characters, but rather than existing on their own, they feel like they are there to serve a purpose, to impart a specific message from the author. Of course, all novels do this to one degree or another, but I like the mechanics to be more invisible. The pacing is also rather slower than I'd prefer.

kerriboland's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

1.75

I'm with a lot of other people on this one. I was into the writing. I was into the story. And then I wasn't. It was so slow. There was so much description I just didn't care about. The shoe story made no sense. No thanks.

sophronisba's review

dark tense 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? No

3.25

This book didn't really work for me and I'm at a bit of a loss to understand why. I think I would have preferred a less straightforward plot or a really deep dive into Copeland Cane as a person. As it is he felt a bit underdeveloped to me.

icameheretoread's review

4.5

I loved this. From the first chapter I just loved this. It's Norris's voice. I thought Copeland's story was sad, exciting, terrifying and (sometimes) laugh out loud funny. I'm not sure I would call this dystopian, it is a few years in the future in which things have gotten worse, but it's more of a black mirror situation: this would be us "if this" or "if we had that". This should be required reading.