A review by thewordsdevourer
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

empathetic, affirming, revelatory, and hopeful, the black flamingo--despite its many doses of oft unpleasant reality--is a comforting book that i wish everyone would read.

ive never read anything like it before: a novel in verse, the poems suffused w/ simple yet lyrical beauty, filled w/ great illustrations, w/ the page breaks used to maximum effect, and all the elements work so well tgt still. i also greatly enjoy the writing: certain lines, phrases, words, and the imagery they conjure make me simply marvel at their cleverness, insight, or emotional impact.

this book honestly hits close to home w/ the identity crises, and the author's portrayal + exploration of the intersectionality in terms of race and gender from a mixed-race black perspective is sth to behold; the microaggressions and seemingly 'simple' remarks or actions carry such weight and illustrate the systemic level of the problems explored. though the journey certainly isnt easy, all the different parts of michael's identity come to form a cohesive whole who, by the book's end, knows and loves enough to stand up for himself and similar others.
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