In my (ill-fated) effort to read the Aspen Prize longlist, I listened to The Last White Man on Libro.FM. In what is likely an unpopular opinion, this book did not work for me. 

I found the story fairly bromidic, with a stiff protagonist and a heavy-handed execution of the main plotline. The parts that struck an emotionally resonant chord seemed to only occur in side sentences, meant to add richness to the backstories of Anders and Oona rather than contribute to the central narrative. Whenever the story came back to the main driving conflict — white people waking up to find their skin turned brown or black — I was left feeling like I was reading something that wanted to be compelling but ended up feeling trite or obvious. Most of the ensuing clashes, both internally and communally, felt predictable.

And now, for a few things that worked: there were sentences that exuded attentive observation of the human condition, especially the parts that covered Oona’s thoughts. The sparse style of the book meant that these moments held stand-out weight. I also applaud the ways Hamid worked hard to keep the setting neutral, offering little in the way of scenic description and naming only the two main characters. In that way, I can see his efforts to create a parable-like story. 

On the whole, I’m not sure I’d readily recommend this read, but I don’t regret giving it a try.