Description
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.
Hamid's The Last White Man invites us to envision a future - our future - that dares to reimagine who we think we are, and how we might yet be together.
Samara Mills @iparker_506
January 21, 2023
4
Fascinating book. It feels like a fable. Kafka-esque — the guy who overnight changes into an insect — though I do like Hamid’s explanation of his inspiration as coming from his own sudden loss of white privilege after 9/11. Obviously a commentary on racism, reactionary replacement theory, the possibility of a better future.