Kelsey
An engaging read covering some subject matter that was both informative and challenging.
It did, however, leave me wondering... what was the point? I don't always ask that question after reading novels because in many cases I don't know that there was meant to be a big philosophical takeaway. But with this one, it was clear that the author had something in mind when he set out writing this book – something more than an exploration of racism in the 30s, I think. And I only say this because of the two seemingly random tangents about present-day issues with phone obsession, gun violence, and distribution of wealth. A friend pointed out to me that maybe this was the result of some editing? Maybe the publishers wanted him to tone down the comparisons to present-day but allowed him to keep just a little bit of it? If that's the case, then it's a shame. Because upon reflection, I think I would've liked to see more of that.
An engaging read covering some subject matter that was both informative and challenging.
It did, however, leave me wondering... what was the point? I don't always ask that question after reading novels because in many cases I don't know that there was meant to be a big philosophical takeaway. But with this one, it was clear that the author had something in mind when he set out writing this book – something more than an exploration of racism in the 30s, I think. And I only say this because of the two seemingly random tangents about present-day issues with phone obsession, gun violence, and distribution of wealth. A friend pointed out to me that maybe this was the result of some editing? Maybe the publishers wanted him to tone down the comparisons to present-day but allowed him to keep just a little bit of it? If that's the case, then it's a shame. Because upon reflection, I think I would've liked to see more of that.