A review by jolles
Afropessimism by Frank B. Wilderson III

5.0

Not gonna lie, cried (just a little) at the end of this one. Obviously a masterful union of critical theory, lived experience, and the deep perspective/insight of someone who has lived a lot of life. The way in which Wilderson answers the question of "What is afropessimism" through so many turns/scenes of negation is done so well that I wasn't even frustrated when his thesis appeared on page 267 out of a 339 page book. Most compelling of all, I think, is his assertion towards the end that afropessimism poses a structural problem without a structural solution. This is what it means to do good theoretical work, I think. Indeed we are all often consumed with praxis! praxis! praxis! But, on occasion, there are inevitably/unavoidably problems that simply resist solutions/resolution/or, perhaps, in Wilderson's own parlance: redemption.