A review by courtbcook
The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man by James Weldon Johnson, Arna Bontemps

2.0

After discussing the difference between what is considered a “good” novel and what is considered an “interesting” novel*, I have made the decision that this one is most certainly interesting, but not very good. Johnson presents race issues ranging from double-consciousness to passing (crossing the color line) to the struggle for identity as his unnamed narrator explores the dark tunnels connecting whiteness and blackness during Reconstruction. In this novel the reader (and the narrator) becomes privy to conversations usually held in the privacy of homogeneity, that is to say, that the conversations the narrator observes are usually reserved for people of the same color, but he is able to pass for both white and black allowing him and the reader a new, more complete, perspective of popular ideas held within post Civil War America. All of this is very interesting, but I think where Johnson loses me (makes me feel that it is not a "good" book) is in his dry narrative style, the way a plot seems to escape this novel, and in his narrator, who most of the time seems to be an observer rather than a participant which leads to a description of the goings-on of cities, but does not allow for the reader to invest in the character emotionally or otherwise. The ideas for contemplation presented in this book make it worth the read, however, if you are looking for a “good” book to snuggle up with, then I’d suggest choosing something else from the shelf.

*Good novel: one read for enjoyment, Interesting novel: One read for educational purposes, may not be 'good,' but may offer ideas, perspectives, issues, in such a way that can be useful to growth in one's studies (or living)