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sakisreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I had heard some hype around this book, so I knew I had to try it 😳
It was such an interesting book and I found it so easy to read. Racialised people cannot change race, but the cultural and political aspects were so realistic that I found myself believing it was something that could happen 🥲
I really did like the ending, where Anders and Oona had their child and things were very hopeful 🥹 It made me feel content!
4 out of 5 stars for me, thank you ✨ Content warnings included below!
It was such an interesting book and I found it so easy to read. Racialised people cannot change race, but the cultural and political aspects were so realistic that I found myself believing it was something that could happen 🥲
4 out of 5 stars for me, thank you ✨ Content warnings included below!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Body shaming, and Racism
paigehf's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Racism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
Minor: Gun violence
mjtal's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence
madeleineelr's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Racism
Moderate: Hate crime, Violence, Drug use, and Gun violence
mandaant1's review
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I see what Hamid was trying to do, having a white man experience the life of a person of color. The storyline was good but jumpy. There wasn’t enough detail before moving onto the next scene. The writing was too repetitive and sometimes hard to understand.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Suicide
Minor: Rape
josie2k's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racism, Sexual content, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Alcohol, Confinement, Hate crime, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Toxic relationship
amanda_marie's review
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Such an interesting concept with soft, lovely prose. I could have used more examination into the racial aspect of the work, as it felt almost as something the characters were observing than experiencing. Beautifully written though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
ruthmoog's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
3.75
This is very short, I didn't get on with the matter-of-fact delivery, for a premise that is so interesting and plucked from the 'what-if?' universe, I expected more excitement or depth to be given rather than worked for?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Racism
sarahholliday's review
challenging
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
I think The Last White Man would make for a fantastic read alongside other works that tackle similar topics, employ the same literary devices, and offer different approaches to the "race transformation" plot. There's a lot to discuss here, and though I personally didn't find Hamid's approach to be particularly satisfying, I would love to dig into it with others.
I don't usually enjoy Hemingway-eque, stream of consciousness writing styles, but there was something about Hamid's rambling sentences and odd colloquialisms that kept me engaged.
Overall, I think a lot of the heft of the novel comes from its representation of events we've collectively lived through recently—militant responses to unrest, racial tension, confinement, etc. The events of the novel, apart from their real life counterparts, feel overly simplistic. Maybe that's a result of our limited perspective, stuck as we are within Anders' POV. Or maybe Hamid's happily-ever-ending just feels to unrealistic.
I don't usually enjoy Hemingway-eque, stream of consciousness writing styles, but there was something about Hamid's rambling sentences and odd colloquialisms that kept me engaged.
Overall, I think a lot of the heft of the novel comes from its representation of events we've collectively lived through recently—militant responses to unrest, racial tension, confinement, etc. The events of the novel, apart from their real life counterparts, feel overly simplistic. Maybe that's a result of our limited perspective, stuck as we are within Anders' POV. Or maybe Hamid's happily-ever-ending just feels to unrealistic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Suicide, Death, and Pandemic/Epidemic
mmccombs's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Interesting premise that opens the doors to a lot of thought-provoking ideas, but it just didn’t feel fully fleshed out. The writing was just okay, the narration of the audiobook was just okay, the character work was just okay. It was okay! I wish we had driven deeper into the characters’ reactions to the change (honestly I didn’t buy that a majority of white people would be so chill with no longer being white). The concept is interesting enough to have engaged me, but nothing else really worked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Racism, and Death of parent