A review by nothingforpomegranted
The Appropriation of Cultures by Percival Everett

funny reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This was brilliant, and the perfect foray into reading Percival Everett, who is currently the peak of the American literary zeitgeist. Daniel is a black pianist, artist, and thinker who is pushed to play “Dixie” at a show. He challenges his own instinctive resistance and chooses to not only play the song but also to embrace its resonance with him, a Southern man. He is inspired to take that pride and extend it to the Confederate flag, to claim it as his own, appropriate it, and view it as a symbol of Black power. The rest of the story follows Daniel as he buys a truck with a flag decal and encounters people who question him. The humor in the story is clear but not overhanded, and the sense of strength was meaningful and powerfully distinct from the sense of victimhood that I think pervades the current climate.