zoes_human's review against another edition
Tomb of the Unknown Racist lost my interest and fell short of my expectations. I was promised quirky characters, but they seemed just like everyone around me. It would tantalizingly veer toward some sort of deep sociopolitical thought but then amble awkwardly right past it. I got the impression it was supposed to be a sort of mystery aspect yet I never once felt intrigued.
nicoleabouttown's review against another edition
1.0
I was so excited when I received a copy of the Tomb of the Unknown Racist: A Novel by Blanche McCrary Boyd for review. The premise sounded so absolutely intriguing, especially given the political climate today. Unfortunately for me, I found it so incredibly boring and generally hard to follow, that after having read about half of the book, I had to put it down.
Now I absolutely hate giving a book a DNF (Did Not Finish) rating. I'm a blogger; I review things. The whole point is for me to read a book, watch a movie, test a product and then tell you, my readers what I thought of it. The problem for me is that I am no longer able to force myself to sit down and read something that I just am not following or getting any enjoyment out of. I.JUST.CANT.DO.IT.AND.YOU.CANT.MAKE.ME.
I personally found the Tomb of the Unknown Racist: A Novel by Blanche McCrary Boyd ridiculously hard to follow. It jumped from one thing to another and kept doing that throughout the part of the book that I read. I had to constantly remind myself who was who in the story and what happened last and so on. It was honestly a struggle. Not one of the characters, including the protagonist Ellen, were either likeable or relatable in any way shape or form. It was just a hot mess that I just couldn't finish. Now I'm not sure how much of that had to do with the formatting issues of the review copy that I was reading, or the fact that I had not read any of the previous books. But honestly, none of that should have mattered when it all came down to it.
Now I absolutely hate giving a book a DNF (Did Not Finish) rating. I'm a blogger; I review things. The whole point is for me to read a book, watch a movie, test a product and then tell you, my readers what I thought of it. The problem for me is that I am no longer able to force myself to sit down and read something that I just am not following or getting any enjoyment out of. I.JUST.CANT.DO.IT.AND.YOU.CANT.MAKE.ME.
I personally found the Tomb of the Unknown Racist: A Novel by Blanche McCrary Boyd ridiculously hard to follow. It jumped from one thing to another and kept doing that throughout the part of the book that I read. I had to constantly remind myself who was who in the story and what happened last and so on. It was honestly a struggle. Not one of the characters, including the protagonist Ellen, were either likeable or relatable in any way shape or form. It was just a hot mess that I just couldn't finish. Now I'm not sure how much of that had to do with the formatting issues of the review copy that I was reading, or the fact that I had not read any of the previous books. But honestly, none of that should have mattered when it all came down to it.
michelempls's review against another edition
3.0
Good overall. The ending seemed a little jumbled and more than a bit abrupt, given the buildup. Favorite quote:
"...neither of us knew how to inherit our white skin after the civil rights movement made that whiteness visible. In this narrative, I have tried to claim my skin in a way that disavows its supremacy, but I cannot untangle every knot, or illuminate all opacities, even in my own character."
"...neither of us knew how to inherit our white skin after the civil rights movement made that whiteness visible. In this narrative, I have tried to claim my skin in a way that disavows its supremacy, but I cannot untangle every knot, or illuminate all opacities, even in my own character."
yurwity's review against another edition
3.0
I felt that Blanche McCrary Boyd did a wonderful job rendering a character whose intentions are good, who wants to help, but who can't see around her own biases enough not to make a mess of things. For me the ending was a little quick and felt cobbled together, but the buildup was so satisfying.
sariggs's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely worth reading. I’m not sure about the ending though.
katebelt's review against another edition
4.0
This book has elements that I usually find unappealing, such as killings, espionage, and white supremacy, but it’s a finalist for the 2019 Pen/Faulkner award for fiction, so I decided to give it a try. It’s a powerful story with great writing.
kat_chinetti's review
5.0
This book is not for the faint of heart.
Blanche McCary Boyd pulls no punches and you will know exactly how her characters feel about everything that happens to them.
This novel is sad, poignant, thrilling and painful.
Blanche McCary Boyd pulls no punches and you will know exactly how her characters feel about everything that happens to them.
This novel is sad, poignant, thrilling and painful.
almostokay's review
3.0
In the Tomb of the Unknown Racist, we follow Ellen Burns throughout a sort of quest to find help her niece (Ruby) when her two children are missing. It is partly a detective story to find out the truth about what happened to Ruby's children and bring her supposedly "dead brother" out of hiding part; and a spiritual journey for Burns to come to terms with all of the things in life - the radical racism in America, her sobriety, and how to deal with all the actions of her brother and by extension, all white people. Tomb of the Unknown Racist delves deep into the world of the white supremacy movement, and the extent of its reach and varying ideologies. Ellen tasks herself with trying to tackle all these things while keeping her sobriety and lust of both men and women in check.
I will admit that the story itself did captivate me, though at the times the writing felt a bit dry. The whole story reads as Ellen's memoir, her "final battle" so to speak. With that being said, there are times when she [Ellen] is frustrating in how she thinks and interacts with others but with it being from her POV she often tries to justify her thought processes.
There were some elements I didn't care for, like Ed Blake as a love interest - or character in general. Ellen's interactions with Blake were almost overly "poetic" and didn't come off as love at all. Every other character seemed fairly interesting. I also didn't like the fact that almost everyone wanted to/did/considered sleeping with Ellen. I did appreciate the plain (meaning it wasn't controversial or ostracized) representation of her bisexuality though.
I did love characters like Estelle, Satane, Sister Irene (and maybe just most of the female characters), especially when they called Ellen out on sometimes using serious issues and her righteous mentality to cover the selfishness and ego behind some of her actions.
All in all, not my favorite book but an interesting enough read. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to see a different way to see how people view, cope and react to the ongoing - horrible - phenomenon of racism.
I will admit that the story itself did captivate me, though at the times the writing felt a bit dry. The whole story reads as Ellen's memoir, her "final battle" so to speak. With that being said, there are times when she [Ellen] is frustrating in how she thinks and interacts with others but with it being from her POV she often tries to justify her thought processes.
There were some elements I didn't care for, like Ed Blake as a love interest - or character in general. Ellen's interactions with Blake were almost overly "poetic" and didn't come off as love at all. Every other character seemed fairly interesting. I also didn't like the fact that almost everyone wanted to/did/considered sleeping with Ellen. I did appreciate the plain (meaning it wasn't controversial or ostracized) representation of her bisexuality though.
I did love characters like Estelle, Satane, Sister Irene (and maybe just most of the female characters), especially when they called Ellen out on sometimes using serious issues and her righteous mentality to cover the selfishness and ego behind some of her actions.
All in all, not my favorite book but an interesting enough read. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to see a different way to see how people view, cope and react to the ongoing - horrible - phenomenon of racism.