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signeskov's review
challenging
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Racism
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A Different Drummer by William Melvin Kelley 🥁
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
🥁 The plot: When Tucker Caliban, descendant of a famous African chief, unexpectedly salts his land, shoots his livestock and leaves his small Southern town, it sparks a mass exodus of Black people from the whole state. Those who remain are left to puzzle over the motives for what he did and how to react.
I was motivated to read this book in large part by @themixedreader's incredible review, which I recommend everyone reads!
In this novel, Kelley takes a fictional town between the end of slavery and the start of the Civil Rights movement and explores an enduring dilemma when it comes to tackling racism, namely whether true freedom can be achieved within the same structures that were built on its suppression. Caliban decides not: he rejects the legacy of his ancestors' enslavement despite the fact that his livelihood is linked to the Willson family who enslaved his own. His unprecedented destruction of that legacy cuts the connection to past exploitation and galvanises a movement that stuns the state.
One of the cleverest things about this book is that at no point is the story told through the eyes of the Black people involved in the action, but only through the white people left behind - the Willsons, or the men who congregate each day at the local shop. As a reader, and perhaps particularly as a white one, you are shut out of their decision in a way that underscores their radical departure from the familiar system.
It's not just a symbolic gesture, but a brilliant storytelling device. The white characters' lack of self-reflection about their whiteness nonetheless paints a clear picture of it: an identity built on a notion of superiority that is fundamentally challenged by Caliban's actions. It's ruthless, showing the cruelty and violence that this position spawns in a way that is frequently very difficult to read. It reminded me of Another Country by James Baldwin, which also uses white characters to illuminate race in America to a similarly brilliant effect.
It is absolutely unbelievable to me that this was Kelley's first novel and I think more people should read it!
🥁 Read it if you're a fan of American literature, particularly James Baldwin, and if you want to read a story that's set just before the Civil Rights Movement.
🚫 Avoid it if you're not in a place to read about racism or racist violence, as these are both strong themes that are painted in detail at various points throughout the novel.
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
🥁 The plot: When Tucker Caliban, descendant of a famous African chief, unexpectedly salts his land, shoots his livestock and leaves his small Southern town, it sparks a mass exodus of Black people from the whole state. Those who remain are left to puzzle over the motives for what he did and how to react.
I was motivated to read this book in large part by @themixedreader's incredible review, which I recommend everyone reads!
In this novel, Kelley takes a fictional town between the end of slavery and the start of the Civil Rights movement and explores an enduring dilemma when it comes to tackling racism, namely whether true freedom can be achieved within the same structures that were built on its suppression. Caliban decides not: he rejects the legacy of his ancestors' enslavement despite the fact that his livelihood is linked to the Willson family who enslaved his own. His unprecedented destruction of that legacy cuts the connection to past exploitation and galvanises a movement that stuns the state.
One of the cleverest things about this book is that at no point is the story told through the eyes of the Black people involved in the action, but only through the white people left behind - the Willsons, or the men who congregate each day at the local shop. As a reader, and perhaps particularly as a white one, you are shut out of their decision in a way that underscores their radical departure from the familiar system.
It's not just a symbolic gesture, but a brilliant storytelling device. The white characters' lack of self-reflection about their whiteness nonetheless paints a clear picture of it: an identity built on a notion of superiority that is fundamentally challenged by Caliban's actions. It's ruthless, showing the cruelty and violence that this position spawns in a way that is frequently very difficult to read. It reminded me of Another Country by James Baldwin, which also uses white characters to illuminate race in America to a similarly brilliant effect.
It is absolutely unbelievable to me that this was Kelley's first novel and I think more people should read it!
🥁 Read it if you're a fan of American literature, particularly James Baldwin, and if you want to read a story that's set just before the Civil Rights Movement.
🚫 Avoid it if you're not in a place to read about racism or racist violence, as these are both strong themes that are painted in detail at various points throughout the novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Violence and Hate crime
kmgard's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence
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