Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Incognegro: A Graphic Mystery by Mat Johnson

4 reviews

unavezmas's review against another edition

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  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

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sonaea's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Honestly would have gotten 5 stars because the topic is important and it's well done but I can't really stand those random sexist comments coming from the main character. And the
Spoilersurprising queerness (either a crossdressing or a trans person - can't really say with what information we have)
could have been handled better too
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theayeaye's review

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adventurous challenging informative tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Incognegro is a fast paced and raw mystery adventure that follows a Black journalist undercover as a white man in the Deep South reporting on a lynching. It's an evocative and intense story with twists and turns that keep the narrative gripping throughout.
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katsbooks's review

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

"Race doesn't really exist. Culture? Ethnicity? Sure. Class too. But race is just a bunch of rules meant to keep us on the bottom."

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this novel but ultimately, it was a miss for me. First things first, massive trigger warnings for graphic depictions of racial violence and murder. Please read with caution. So some things I liked: I really liked how this story didn't sugarcoat the reality and brutality of lynching in the American South. Too often, history gets white washed and toned down to make it more palatable for a White audience and this book definitely did not do that. I think the intent behind this novel is incredibly important and I'm glad there is a space for it.
Now the things I struggled with: the plot, honestly, just went a-wandering about half way through. It felt like this novel was trying way too hard to fit into a detective/noir type genre which trivialized it a bit for me. I feel like the impact of this novel lays in how it truly humanizes victims who were lynched by White mobs but when the story
Spoilernonchlantly kills off two white women with little fanfare
that impact was lost. 
Spoiler Especially since the two white women who were killed were part of the "passing" narrative of the story and were marginalized for themselves!
The villain reveal was a whole mess that completely lost it's shock value since there had already been so many crazy twists and reveals that had seemingly come out of left field. There were also some moments that were genuinely funny which was cool but really didn't fit with the tone of the story. I just never knew how to feel about what I was reading! And I really struggled with how Harlem was idealized into some kind of utopia. There is a common trope in US historical fields that the North was this fabulous place for Black people but there was plenty of racism and segregation everywhere. I think this book just really lacked the nuance I was looking for but if you're into detective stories and the noir genre, in general, this might be for you. 
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