Blog tour: The Last White Man

By

Welcome to the blog tour for The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid!

More about the book…

One morning, Anders wakes to find that his skin has turned dark, his reflection a stranger to him. At first he tells only Oona, an old friend, newly a lover. Soon, reports of similar occurrences surface across the land. Some see in the transformations the long-dreaded overturning of an established order, to be resisted to a bitter end. In many, like Anders's father and Oona's mother, a sense of profound loss wars with profound love. As the bond between Anders and Oona deepens, change takes on a different shading: a chance to see one another, face to face, anew.

More about the author…

Mohsin Hamid is the author of four novels -- Moth Smoke, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, and Exit West -- and a book of essays, Discontent and Its Civilizations.

His writing has been translated into forty languages, featured on bestseller lists, and adapted for the cinema.

Born in Lahore, he has spent about half his life there and much of the rest in London, New York, and California.

My impressions…

A small book that asks big questions. What would you do if – previously fair-skinned – you woke up one morning and found yourself suddenly dark-skinned? Would it change the way you behave / think of yourself / think of others / relate to friends, family and strangers? The answers are for us to come up with while we read about Anders and his experience, narrated in a beautiful prose that almost reads like a stream of consciousness.

I started reading this book expecting shocking cases of racism and - don't get me wrong - racism is a component of this novel... but I reached the last page thinking this was less a book about being black or white and more a book about relationships - between lovers but also between parents and children. Relationships that go beyond the colour of your skin. Relationships that are universal.

Three words to describe it. New. Thought-provoking. Powerful.

Do I like the cover? Yes, I just wish that its stunning blue would come out better in my photos!

Have I read any other books by the same author? Not yet. I have Exit West waiting on my Kindle though!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Booknet: a new platform for authors and readers

By
Image
‘Ooooh, what is Booknet ?’ I hear you ask… Booknet is a popular literary social media network, self-publishing platform, and Bookscription eBook sales model, all of which is being introduced to the UK following rapid growth in Latin America and Eastern Europe since 2015. How does it work? Booknet is both a successful literary self-publishing platform and a social network, founded by Ukrainian entrepreneurs in 2015. Booknet has gained significant traction in countries such as Ukraine, Russia (the Russian division was sold in the spring of 2022 because of the war between Ukraine and Russia), as well as Latin America. The company is now actively investing resources into the development of its English-language version. Authors can either publish their books with free access by readers, or sell them after obtaining commercial status through the platform. Booknet provides free advertising for eBooks sold by their authors on the platform. Booknet’s distinctive features (apart from being a pop...
Read more

Book review: She’s Never Coming Back

By
Image
By Hans Koppel Translated by Kari Dickson Published by Sphere It is safe to say that my choice of reading material is not usually truculent. That’s why I surprised myself when I decided to read a novel whose front cover prominently displays a quote describing it as a ‘terrifying crime novel’. I started to read expecting the worse and - it being impossible to put the book down - a few hours later I was trying to understand what had hit me. Let’s be clear: I loved this book and I’m grateful to Sphere for publishing this Swedish novel by author Karl Petter Lidbeck who, being a children’s literature author, decided to have it published under the pen name of Hans Koppel. I can see why he doesn’t want to have the two genres mixing on the bookshelves! The plot is simple enough: one day after work, Ylva does not return home. When she hasn’t returned 24 hours later, her husband Mike starts to worry and calls the police. Ylva seems to have disappeared without a trace and, month after month, Mike...
Read more

“Italy in books” - reading challenge 2011

By
Image
Why this challenge? This year I’ve decided to host a reading challenge because I think that they are a brilliant idea. They help to make reading a more collective experience and are a great way to find out more about any particular author / genre / topic and get to know about books you might never have come across. I chose this topic because - as an Italian who has been living abroad for many years now - I feel the need to learn more about my home country and I’m curious to see the difference between the way it is portrayed by native Italians and others. The details of the challenge The challenge will run from January, 1st 2011 to December, 31st 2011 . The aim of the challenge is to read at least 12 books that are set in Italy. Whether written by Italian authors or not, it doesn’t matter. They don’t have to be set exclusively in Italy but this country needs to play a significant role in the book. The challenge can include non-fiction books about Italy. You can also review Italian lea...
Read more