Tag: racism
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The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Shattering, beautiful and essential
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The Trees by Percival Everett
What if Mel Brooks and Jordan Peele wrote an Elmore Leonard novel? This is unbelievably good.
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James by Percival Everett
Everett’s interpretation of the slave character from Huckleberry Finn is subversive, funny, thrilling and thought-provoking.
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The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
For the record, if it matters, I’m not American. I read the 10th anniversary edition of this book that has a lengthy preface (the first edition was published in 2010, the second in pre-pandemic 2020). The first came out shortly after Obama’s first election, and presciently, Alexander doesn’t fall into the trap of optimism that…
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The Hate Next Door: Undercover within the New Face of White Supremacy by Matson Browning
I expected this to be a series of skinhead war stories, and it is that, but it’s a lot more. It’s a strong indictment of US law enforcement, police culture and the acceptance of white supremacism at various levels of government. It’s shockingly good, and I’d be surprised if this wasn’t adapted like We Own…
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A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan
This is a riveting story that I knew nothing about. Part shocking history of the KKK in the 1920’s midwest, part Criminal Minds-style crime story, part legal drama. It’s fantastic as all three, and kind of even works as commentary on today’s politics, without ever claiming to be. Egan is a great writer, the story…