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A review by bookalong
Shame on Me: An Anatomy of Race and Belonging by Tessa McWatt
5.0
"Identification is not identity. Shared traits do not equal shared identity. My identity has been fluid as I move back and forth across the Atlantic, back and forth between art and institution, between screen and page, between past and present."
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Thoughts~
Mcwatt has written a most impressive piece of literature. An analysis of race and identity like no other! The very question "who are you?" has never been so closely examined.
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The book opens with a memory, an eight years old McWatt in her grade 3 classroom. The teacher asking if any of the children know what the word Negro means. A fellow classmate points at McWatt, the teacher then tries to steady the conversation by saying no Tessa is something else. Then ask's what are you Tessa? Even at such a young age this leaves an everlasting mark on her.
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I have never read anything as smart and thought provoking on matters of race and identity. She goes deep. Sharing stories from childhood to womanhood. Courageously examining her own body in correlation to her interracial heritage. The images she conjures are powerful and lasting. She breaks down barriers on racism both politically and culturally. This book left me with so much to think about. She is a brilliant and talented writer!
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Books like this are so important. For the readers who find comfort in their pages but also the readers that grasp a better understanding of experiences they will never know or live through.
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This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 and it didnt dissapoint! It publishes today and I highly reccomend checking it out!
•
Thank You to the publisher for sending me this book. Opinions are my own.
•
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong.
•
Thoughts~
Mcwatt has written a most impressive piece of literature. An analysis of race and identity like no other! The very question "who are you?" has never been so closely examined.
•
The book opens with a memory, an eight years old McWatt in her grade 3 classroom. The teacher asking if any of the children know what the word Negro means. A fellow classmate points at McWatt, the teacher then tries to steady the conversation by saying no Tessa is something else. Then ask's what are you Tessa? Even at such a young age this leaves an everlasting mark on her.
•
I have never read anything as smart and thought provoking on matters of race and identity. She goes deep. Sharing stories from childhood to womanhood. Courageously examining her own body in correlation to her interracial heritage. The images she conjures are powerful and lasting. She breaks down barriers on racism both politically and culturally. This book left me with so much to think about. She is a brilliant and talented writer!
•
Books like this are so important. For the readers who find comfort in their pages but also the readers that grasp a better understanding of experiences they will never know or live through.
•
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 and it didnt dissapoint! It publishes today and I highly reccomend checking it out!
•
Thank You to the publisher for sending me this book. Opinions are my own.
•
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong.