''A Particular Kind of Black Man'' is 2019 novel by Nigerian writer

Tope Folarin Tope Folarin (born 1981) is a Nigerian-American writer and executive director of the Institute for Policy Studies. He won the 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story "Miracle". In April 2014 he was named in the Hay Festival's Afri ...

Plot

''A Particular Kind of Black Man'' centers on the protagonist, Tunde Akinola, a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

who lives in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

with his family. While in school, Tunde has to face racism from his classmates and schoolmates who rub his skin asking why his dark skin will not go off. At home, Tunde's father, Akinola, struggles to keep up to his responsibility as he cannot get a good job due to his skin and race. His mother, who has

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

, abuses Tunde physically. Tunde's mother wakes up one morning and takes Tunde and his younger brother and ran away. Akinola tracks them and takes Tunde, while Tunde's mother flies back to Nigeria with his younger brother. Tunde's father remarries a Utah resident who is also a racist and divorcee who prefers her own children over Tunde.

Theme

The theme in the novel includes coming-of-age, racism and self-realization.

Development

Folarin stated that the novel was supposed to be a semi-autobiography but the story then began to expand and that the protagonist took a new phase rather than what he had imagined.

Reception

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' described it as " tender, cunning debut…" and that " Folarin pulls off the crafty trick of simultaneously bringing scenes to sharp life and undercutting their reliability, and evokes the complexities of life as a second-generation African-American in simple, vivid prose. Folarin's debut is canny and electrifying." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described it as "Wild, vulnerable, lived…A study of the particulate self, the self as a constellation of moving parts."

References

2019 American novels Nigerian-American novels Novels set in Nigeria Novels set in Utah 2019 Nigerian novels Simon & Schuster books {{Nigeria-novel-stub