Heads of the colored people

stories

209 pages

English language

Published Feb. 9, 2018

ISBN:
978-1-5011-6799-7
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OCLC Number:
989963508

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4 stars (5 reviews)

"Calling to mind the best works of Paul Beatty and Junot Diaz, this collection of moving, timely, and darkly funny stories examines the concept of black identity in this so-called post-racial era. A stunning new talent in literary fiction, Nafissa Thompson-Spires grapples with black identity and the contemporary middle class in these compelling, boundary-pushing vignettes. Each captivating story plunges headfirst into the lives of new, utterly original characters. Some are darkly humorous--from two mothers exchanging snide remarks through notes in their kids' backpacks, to the young girl contemplating how best to notify her Facebook friends of her impending suicide--while others are devastatingly poignant--a new mother and funeral singer who is driven to madness with grief for the young black boys who have fallen victim to gun violence, or the teen who struggles between her upper middle class upbringing and her desire to fully connect with black culture. Thompson-Spires fearlessly shines …

7 editions

Review of 'Heads of the Colored People' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This is a 3.5 read for me, but I struggled with whether to round up or down. I decided on rounding up because I do think the writing is great and each story left you with enough to mull over. They are just largely stories of realism which I find less interesting.

A few of them are stories of someone (usually unlikeable) who is a bit out there, though, which I do enjoy if I'm reading realism. I enjoyed This Todd for that, though I'm curious about how that story goes over with folks who have lower limb differences.

But my favorites are a couple at the beginning - Belles Lettres and The Necessary Changes Had Been Made. Both of those are so upper class petty and entertaining.

Thematically this is a lot about racism, being "Black enough" or the right kind of Black, and the intersection of class with …

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rated it

4 stars
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rated it

4 stars
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rated it

3 stars

Subjects

  • American Short stories
  • African Americans
  • Blacks
  • Race identity
  • Fiction