A History of the African-American People [Proposed] by Strom Thurmond, as told to Percival Everett and James Kincaid: A Novel

In this book, a reissue of the original from 2004, Percival Everett and James Kincaid skewer everything from racism in America to academia and more personal quirks than I knew existed.

While the authors are well known now they were considerably less so in 2004 which may be why I hadn't read it before now. I admit I expected Thurmond to be more specifically lambasted but he largely serves as a representative for the worst racist impulses of the country, as well as a mouthpiece to point out some uncomfortable truths, albeit cloaked in his ugly mindset. I think of it more as an over-the-top reflection of the dysfunction this country has long been suffering, even before the moron-in-chief took office again.

These are told in emails, texts, show more and other such forms of documentation, so it takes a little effort (not too much) to keep the plot (such as it is) straight since many of the pieces of documentation will have you laughing and forgetting the bigger (surreal) picture.

I would recommend this to readers who might like to ponder our country's ills, from personal to political, while also laughing. I also think you can read it simply as entertainment, even though the message will still play a part in the humor.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less

In which a couple of publishing industry types undertake a correspondence to start the ball rolling for the late Thurmond to bring his book about the struggles of the African-American to the publishing light of day. This is obviously a most amusing premise, and as carried out it combines two of the finest attributes a novel can possess: it's funny as well as thought-provoking.