Reviews

Harry Sylvester Bird by Chinelo Okparanta

mswrightwright's review against another edition

emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I see why this would be considered a polarizing novel. The novel is well-written and thoughtful, looking at trauma, racism, and privilege; she bends your thinking. Her critique of performative allyship is well done. However, while I understand how Harry developed into who he is,  I found it difficult to like him as a character or extend empathy. I just couldn't find anything redemptive about Harry (maybe that was the point). 

Maryam: "You know what I'm learning? Never have an ally. Allies are always loyal to their politics and never to you, never even to themselves" (218).

vwojtowicz's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

sittingwishingreading's review

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

ola_wnka's review

challenging reflective sad 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

1.75

eunicek82's review against another edition

challenging dark funny fast-paced

2.0

I found the satire to be too heavy-handed. I understood what it was trying to say about the pervasiveness of white supremacy, but this book was not for me. 

readherenow's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

jukietoss's review

dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

This is a wild ride looking at race--from the perspective of a 14-22-year-old white boy who fancies himself transracial in a world that views that as a real thing. It wields its irreverence to question some of what we take for granted--or some of what may come to pass if we don't build our future with care. 

It was really brilliant and thought-provoking, an achievement as the sophomore novel from Okparanta. Though it's told from the perspective of this white boy/young man, we're able to learn about his Nigerian girlfriend from his racist perspective. He's a truly unreliable narrator, intended (I believe) to incite the reader to challenge what we see--to do so through our own eyes instead of his. Our glimpse of Tanzanian characters through his teenage safari, Ghanaian characters through his study abroad, and his Nigerian girlfriend round out a picture of a boy having what he considers to be dysmorphia as he thinks he's really Black, not white. In reality, however, he falls as prey to stereotypes as any racist, and his behavior continues to uphold the white supremacist culture in which he is steeped. 

The backdrop of the book, approximately present day--inclusive of the COVID pandemic and its aftermath--includes a political party called the Purists who are essentially today's white supremacists, but granted even more credibility and social acceptance. The MC's nonchalance around the political state of the country only serves to reinforce his complicity in it. 

This book does a masterful job of shining a light on the current moment by satirizing the performative rejection of white supremacy all the while benefiting from and reproducing it. It is a cautionary tale of what could happen if we don't meet the moment with an equal and opposite force of today's white supremacy. A truly phenomenal read and brilliant reframing of the historical moment in which we are living. 

womanwill's review against another edition

challenging funny medium-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? Yes

3.5

scienceworks's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective 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? Yes

4.0

dyannareads's review against another edition

Satire is not my jam I guess