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A review by cheye13
Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour
challenging
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Wayyy too boot-licky for me.
This is excellently written and maintains a strong voice throughout. The depiction of race relations did not pull punches. The story surprisingly sustained a sense of broad hope.
I wanted more of everything. I wanted it to push further in every way. I wanted a deconstruction of capitalism, I wanted a deconstruction/exploration of masculinity (esp in white vs black spaces), I wanted a deconstruction of ambition. I disagree with reviews that say the back end went off the rails - it didn't go far enough off the rails.
Ultimately, it felt like a middle class cishet black man's white collar day dream - he gets to be a jetsetter, he gets to earn big bucks, he gets a nickname, a driver, a girl - he gets to Save The World. Which is a very good and important story to tell - there's plenty of those white stories out there, and this is miles better than any of those. But pitching it as a Sorry to Bother You comp does it a disservice.
This is excellently written and maintains a strong voice throughout. The depiction of race relations did not pull punches. The story surprisingly sustained a sense of broad hope.
I wanted more of everything. I wanted it to push further in every way. I wanted a deconstruction of capitalism, I wanted a deconstruction/exploration of masculinity (esp in white vs black spaces), I wanted a deconstruction of ambition. I disagree with reviews that say the back end went off the rails - it didn't go far enough off the rails.
Ultimately, it felt like a middle class cishet black man's white collar day dream - he gets to be a jetsetter, he gets to earn big bucks, he gets a nickname, a driver, a girl - he gets to Save The World. Which is a very good and important story to tell - there's plenty of those white stories out there, and this is miles better than any of those. But pitching it as a Sorry to Bother You comp does it a disservice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Slavery, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
also: minor mention/depiction of lynching (in a photograph), moderate discussion of incarceration, discussion of drug dealing in addition to drug abuse. A brief discussion of outing somone, not followed through. The hate crime I tagged is a scene of white coworkers "pranking" the only black employee by dumping white paint over him; not sure if it qualifies as a hate crime, but it definitely felt like one in context.