pipn_t's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I really enjoyed this book, I thought the different stories told in the chapelets were interesting. I wasn’t as into the first chapter but got into things more once past there. Lots of interesting history that I didn’t know prior to reading this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
tachyondecay's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
It feels like I have had this Massey Lectures book forever, always next on the to-read list, always another nonfiction book slipping in and taking its place but finally, finally I’ve sat down and given Esi Edugyan the time she deserves here. Out of the Sun is a great example of what the Massey Lectures can be: give someone the platform to talk about whatever they want, basically, but in a way that is interesting and gets you thinking, and that is exactly what Edugyan does here.
At first, this collection of five lectures is ostensibly about Blackness as it is represented in art. Edugyan begins by pondering representations of Angelo Soliman, an example of an African European in the eighteenth century. Her point is not surprising but no less important: so much of modern art has been Eurocentric and, when artists have deigned to depict Black people or Africans, the depictions inherently originate from a racist and colonialist perspective that positions them as inferior, enslaved, etc. These ideas have come up in other books I have read, perhaps most recently White Sight, and if that were all Out of the Sun was maybe I wouldn’t have found it so stimulating. Fortunately, Edugyan takes us beyond that.
Each chapter goes deeper into history as well as our present-day beliefs not just about how we depict the Other but how we construct stories of the Other. From Europe in Chapter 1, Edugyan takes us to Canada, America, Africa, and Asia in subsequent chapters. She engages not just with the literal representation of Blackness in art but with representing oneself as Black, discussing cases like Rachel Doležal as well as white journalists who, in the early twentieth century, posed as Black men to write newspaper articles and a book about what the experience was like. I really love how Edugyan handles such a noxious concept with empathy and nuance, acknowledging on one hand the obvious issues of ignorance and how problematic it is for fellow white people to fawn over such stunts, while on the other hand being able to understand why these writers did it in the first place. I didn’t know about Sprigle and Griffin until now, yet I am not surprised. Edugyan preserves the story without sensationalizing it, excusing it, or demonizing it, trusting her audience to understand how it is inappropriate while exploring what it contributes to the overall conversation.
This overall conversation, of course, is the idea of who gets to claim Blackness and who gets to tell Black stories or stories of being Black. What I, as a white woman, took away from these lectures is reinforcement of the idea that this is a highly contextual concept. “Blackness,” after all, is a construction of white supremacy. There is no one Black culture, though there may be a lot of overlap especially thanks to globalization and the internet. That’s why I really enjoyed the tour that Edugyan takes us on. People with highly melanated skin are racialized in different ways in different parts of the world, yet white supremacy means that Blackness and anti-Black racism exists even in places where Black people are demographically the majority, like many African countries. Her example of how outsiders and Zambians alike regarded Edward Nkoloso and his Zambian space program is a potent reminder of this.
In the end, Out of the Sun speaks to possibilities. It navigates around the edges of Black excellence and Afrofuturism, tantalizingly asks us to ponder what a world in which we truly dismantle white supremacy and break the chains on Blackness might look like. For anyone white who wants to confront the legacy of racism in our storytelling (rather than, as some would like to do, conveniently ignore it and wipe the record clean, barrelling forward into an assumed post-racial future), this book is a powerful read.
Originally posted at Kara.Reviews.
At first, this collection of five lectures is ostensibly about Blackness as it is represented in art. Edugyan begins by pondering representations of Angelo Soliman, an example of an African European in the eighteenth century. Her point is not surprising but no less important: so much of modern art has been Eurocentric and, when artists have deigned to depict Black people or Africans, the depictions inherently originate from a racist and colonialist perspective that positions them as inferior, enslaved, etc. These ideas have come up in other books I have read, perhaps most recently White Sight, and if that were all Out of the Sun was maybe I wouldn’t have found it so stimulating. Fortunately, Edugyan takes us beyond that.
Each chapter goes deeper into history as well as our present-day beliefs not just about how we depict the Other but how we construct stories of the Other. From Europe in Chapter 1, Edugyan takes us to Canada, America, Africa, and Asia in subsequent chapters. She engages not just with the literal representation of Blackness in art but with representing oneself as Black, discussing cases like Rachel Doležal as well as white journalists who, in the early twentieth century, posed as Black men to write newspaper articles and a book about what the experience was like. I really love how Edugyan handles such a noxious concept with empathy and nuance, acknowledging on one hand the obvious issues of ignorance and how problematic it is for fellow white people to fawn over such stunts, while on the other hand being able to understand why these writers did it in the first place. I didn’t know about Sprigle and Griffin until now, yet I am not surprised. Edugyan preserves the story without sensationalizing it, excusing it, or demonizing it, trusting her audience to understand how it is inappropriate while exploring what it contributes to the overall conversation.
This overall conversation, of course, is the idea of who gets to claim Blackness and who gets to tell Black stories or stories of being Black. What I, as a white woman, took away from these lectures is reinforcement of the idea that this is a highly contextual concept. “Blackness,” after all, is a construction of white supremacy. There is no one Black culture, though there may be a lot of overlap especially thanks to globalization and the internet. That’s why I really enjoyed the tour that Edugyan takes us on. People with highly melanated skin are racialized in different ways in different parts of the world, yet white supremacy means that Blackness and anti-Black racism exists even in places where Black people are demographically the majority, like many African countries. Her example of how outsiders and Zambians alike regarded Edward Nkoloso and his Zambian space program is a potent reminder of this.
In the end, Out of the Sun speaks to possibilities. It navigates around the edges of Black excellence and Afrofuturism, tantalizingly asks us to ponder what a world in which we truly dismantle white supremacy and break the chains on Blackness might look like. For anyone white who wants to confront the legacy of racism in our storytelling (rather than, as some would like to do, conveniently ignore it and wipe the record clean, barrelling forward into an assumed post-racial future), this book is a powerful read.
Originally posted at Kara.Reviews.
archytas's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
"'We too will be judged, and judged harshly, by those who come after us. We cannot know how we will offend. But our offences will become the yardstick by which future generations can measure themselves."
Edugyan is a gorgeous writer, smooth, easy to read and deceptively straightforward. Here, she tackles issues of race and history, in five chapters each named for a country or continent, and looking at art, ghost stories, racial 'passing', afrofuturism and storytelling. In each, however, she brings an incisive eye to how we construct the narratives of our society, and how that affects us today. Eduygan is first of all a great storyteller, particularly adept at switching between differing stories all converging on a single point in a way that makes you really want to keep reading.
In tone, Edugyan displays surprising generosity- surprising given her own experiences and the brutality of many of the stories here - to all of the figures she examines. Her connections are varied and often slightly offkilter in the best way. In exploring identity is constructed, she comes back and again to how we read others looking for ourselves - in portraiture, in moments of connections with strangers, or in building new identities. She seeks common points of humanity, but also warns of the dangers of seeing what is not there, and it is all just fascinating to read. In a world where stridency and polarisation is often what wins likes, it is lovely to read a book willing to delve into doubts and nuance, willing to examine failures with a hope that we will continue to improve.
trishtalksbooks's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
tinamayreads's review against another edition
5.0
Reading the hardcover and listening to the audiobook was so good! Narrated by the author. Esi’s voice is so soothing and a joy to listen to. Loved the inclusion of the full colour photos in the hardcover.
Thank you to House of Anansi for my gifted review copy!
Thank you to House of Anansi for my gifted review copy!
xymosfraoula's review
4.25
Stories and storytelling! Finding the art and humanity in something politically charged that despite it all remains, at its core, human! SUCH a unique writing style especially for nonfiction, and the first 2 essays especially have stuck with me. Overall walks the line between informative nonfiction and genuine human experience with grace others often lack.