Blackass

a novel

by
No cover

Blackass (2015)

262 pages

English language

Published Nov. 20, 2015

ISBN:
978-1-55597-733-7
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OCLC Number:
908176280

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4 stars (1 review)

"Furo Wariboko wakes on the morning of a job interview to discover he's turned into a white man: red hair, green eyes, pale skin. In this condition he plunges into the bustle of Lagos to make his fortune. Pursued from the streets to the boardroom by those who would use him, Furo hides the evidence of his former life ... as he reinvents himself. In this wicked satire, Furo's search for an identity deeper than his skin leads to the unraveling of his own precariously constructed story"--Page 4 of cover.

1 edition

reviewed Blackass by A. Igoni Barrett

Review of 'Blackass' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Furo Wariboko awakes one morning to find that overnight he transformed into a white man. In a panic, he leaves his family home and sets off on his own for the first time, navigating the streets of Lagos in his new skin, learning the ways of the world while coming to terms with his new identity. With obvious references to [b:The Metamorphosis|485894|The Metamorphosis|Franz Kafka|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1359061917l/485894.SY75.jpg|2373750] (a cockroach even appears on the scene as he is first examining his lighter skin, in case the reader isn't sure!) and thematic similarities to Gogol's [b:The Nose|24874312|The Nose|Nikolai Gogol|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1423750462l/24874312.SX50.jpg|86212430], Furo's predicament provides a unique perspective on race and identity in a setting about which I am admittedly ignorant. 3.5

Subjects

  • Social life and customs
  • Adaptations
  • Race identity
  • Political satire, Nigerian (English)
  • Fiction
  • False personation
  • Alienation (Social psychology)
  • Blacks
  • Identity (Psychology)

Places

  • Nigeria
  • Lagos
  • Lagos (Nigeria)