It's a piece of satire, but not overly sarcastic. But not naive. Reading it, I felt the way I feel when reading Chuck Palahniuk without the trope of dark undertone -- because racism has its own dark undertones that don't need any help being fucked up. It was cathartic and educating to hear this voice talk about race and America in a serious study, delivered in an absurd manner that managed to be funny and page-turning. From what I understand, the audiobook is even better.