A Particular Kind of Black Man, by Tope Folarin

Tope Folarin, who was born to Nigerian immigrants in Utah, has written his first novel, about the son of Nigerian immigrants who lived in Utah.  A Particular Kind of Black Man is a novel, but even the most cursory look at Tope Folarin's bio tells you that there must be a strong streak of autobiography in the book.  It reads like a memoir of Tope's childhood, through the character of Tunde Akinola.

Tunde and his family are the only black family in a small Utah town.  It's a strange place for a Nigerian family to end up, and Tunde struggles with being so different from everyone else.  He is hopeful that a move to Texas will bring him into contact with other black kids, but he is still the "other" as an immigrant.  Even in college, on a campus where virtually everyone is black, he continues to struggle to find his place and identity.

Folarin has a strong literary voice.  The realism is certainly expected, given the (apparently) autobiographical content.  But Folarin adds some elements that, to me, distracted from the narrative.  He has a recurring theme where he questions whether he is remembering things as they were, or as he hoped they would be.  I thought he might be taking the story in a sci-fi, parallel universe, sliding doors sort of direction, but, no, it was just an insecure guy.  Also, at times he drifted in the second person narrative while he's talking about himself.  Most of the book is told in the first person, but at times he starts that second person memoir style, which I abhor.

This is a memoir with heart, and captures the half-way existence of immigrants, who feel not wholly American, and not wholly Nigerian (or whatever their home country is).  But the lack of drama and direction, along with the weird two-reality sidelines and the second person narrative, made this a just OK memoir/novel to me.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!