A review by balladofreadingqueer
Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I listened to this audio book while driving the final stage of our journey in New Mexico and I really enjoyed it.
This satirical book covers a lot of important and interesting themes such as police brutality, disability fetishisation, tokenism, competition between black women, the insidiousness of the white gaze and colourism.
The first story was interesting but very meta, it was a series of related vignettes with most of the action happening off screen and a self-aware narrator. My favourite stories were This Todd, the story of a woman who fetishises and diminishes the disabled men she dates by calling them all ‘Todd’ despite their criticism of her she lacks all self-awareness. Belle Lettres is 2 mothers writing each other petty letters via their daughters schoobags, a tense competition with the only 2 black girls in the grade. I also enjoyed Suicide, Watch a damning indictment of the impact of social media on young women. The main character wanting attention on social media writes a suicide note but did not intend to kill herself
This satirical book covers a lot of important and interesting themes such as police brutality, disability fetishisation, tokenism, competition between black women, the insidiousness of the white gaze and colourism.
The first story was interesting but very meta, it was a series of related vignettes with most of the action happening off screen and a self-aware narrator. My favourite stories were This Todd, the story of a woman who fetishises and diminishes the disabled men she dates by calling them all ‘Todd’ despite their criticism of her she lacks all self-awareness. Belle Lettres is 2 mothers writing each other petty letters via their daughters schoobags, a tense competition with the only 2 black girls in the grade. I also enjoyed Suicide, Watch a damning indictment of the impact of social media on young women. The main character wanting attention on social media writes a suicide note but did not intend to kill herself
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Police brutality, and Racism