Scan barcode
luvandkiwi's review against another edition
4.0
i fell in love with this book. like most things i love it took me a while before i warmed to it. i was offended in the first couple of chapters...i felt the author equated 'being black' with one's ability to dance and jive talk but as she learns you learn just how puzzling race is...it's importance and absurdities
definitely a good one to have on the ole bookshelf
definitely a good one to have on the ole bookshelf
ewilson2114's review
interesting concept, self-involved narrator and her still-unexamined biases about blackness
_alwaysrealokay's review against another edition
1.0
I want to feel some kind of empathy for her, understand what she is going through but all I feel disdain. She's a big deal out of something that she shouldn't have. The writing is tone-deaf asf like she didn't do "extensive" on Black History. She's annoying, she's pathetic and she needs to get a life.
jmorr290's review against another edition
2.0
Way too long( I skimmed and skipped through a lot if it). And way too much about Bliss.
eat_drink_read_repeat's review
informative
slow-paced
2.0
I found it interesting that the author was attempting to find or define her identity by understanding her fathers decision to not acknowledge part of his ancestry. The chapters regarding Louisiana history, while enlightening, did not add to the book’s message but became a distraction that contributed to the books length.
oceanlistener's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not really very familiar with the work of Anatole Broyard, so I can't speak to how accurately his daughter portrayed him in this book. But I can review the book itself and the ideas about race.
I'll confess, for the first 1/3 of the book or so, I couldn't get over what a twit the author seemed to be. She was raised Whitey McWhiteGirl in wealthy Connecticut, but when she later finds out that her father was "part" African American, she thinks back to all the things like what good dancers they are, or how her brother plays blues harmonica. Maybe she should have known all along!
She does seem to wise up a bit, but that's where the book becomes a more generic history of African Americans in New Orleans, both free and slave. "My Confederate Kinfolk" did it better.
I sympathize that it's a fine line between being "brave" in addressing race, and falling into trite stereotypes. Ms. Broyard tries, and sometimes fails and sometimes comes up with something interesting. Overall, I have a hard time understanding how people get so hung up on genealogy and family history (I have always failed to see what kind of relevance it has on the lives we lead today). She seems to be obsessed with her genetic makeup and what it says about her, and after a while I loose sympathy for someone who cannot just be herself without the context of her racial history.
I'll confess, for the first 1/3 of the book or so, I couldn't get over what a twit the author seemed to be. She was raised Whitey McWhiteGirl in wealthy Connecticut, but when she later finds out that her father was "part" African American, she thinks back to all the things like what good dancers they are, or how her brother plays blues harmonica. Maybe she should have known all along!
She does seem to wise up a bit, but that's where the book becomes a more generic history of African Americans in New Orleans, both free and slave. "My Confederate Kinfolk" did it better.
I sympathize that it's a fine line between being "brave" in addressing race, and falling into trite stereotypes. Ms. Broyard tries, and sometimes fails and sometimes comes up with something interesting. Overall, I have a hard time understanding how people get so hung up on genealogy and family history (I have always failed to see what kind of relevance it has on the lives we lead today). She seems to be obsessed with her genetic makeup and what it says about her, and after a while I loose sympathy for someone who cannot just be herself without the context of her racial history.
azure_mood's review against another edition
3.0
Mixed emotions concerning this book considering the subject matter. Revealing. Sad. Made me angry at points, but made me think a lot too. Overall its a good read especially if one is interested in subjects like self-identity, culture & community, race/race theory, American history and its constant struggle to navigate race/racial politics.
amandawoodruff's review against another edition
3.0
Incredibly fascinating story with extremely uncomfortable (and brave) honesty. A little slow in parts when it gets bogged down in the minutiae of history, but if I had done this much research, I'd want to share it all, too!