This gripping and hearty satire is set in a powerfully racist near future America. The protagonist and narrator is a Black man obsessed with making shareholder at his law firm, so he can afford to purchase demelanization treatment for his preteen mixed-race son. His well realized fears and flaws, and his passionate love for his family are strong driving forces in the narrative.⁣⁣
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This book is so smart and literary, the kind of book where you catch enough neat little references to other works that you know an equal number are probably whizzing by unnoticed. The worldbuilding is also commendable; an unspecified amount of time has passed between now and this story’s setting, and there are so many details that make America feel alternately foreign and familiar. It’s clearly a world that’s shaped by its past, which is an exciting experience when the past is, for the reader, an imagined future. I also loved Ruffin’s rhythm in this story, leveraging the words and sentences to immerse the reader in the narrator’s mental state when it’s tested and straining around the edges.⁣⁣
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I read several reviews that felt this novel was too long, and in the middle I knew exactly what they were talking about as the pace seemed to slooow waaay dooown. I found one major plot decision super frustrating, but the ending was so right. Overall I’m quite enamoured with this book. Ruffin’s next novel is definitely an auto-buy for me!⁣