So, since I have been doing the Goodreads challenges to help me read more, I have run into Ta-Nehisi Coates twice, last year when I read Between the World and Me and this year I just finished his book The Message. I think both books were well written, but I don’t know that I liked the style and would love some other insight because maybe as a white guy, I am just missing something.
I feel like both books were autobiographical and philosophical, and that they were written through a lens of Coates reflecting on his life, his blackness, and his own journey. I don’t mind biological works or autobiographical works, I loved the Malcolm X book when I was younger. But with Coates it seems like every point he tried to make was about him, his blackness, and his view of life as an African-American.
Which is obviously fine. They’re his books. But I do wonder if I am missing something. So, help me out – am I?
by ActualRound7699
2 Comments
You’re allowed to not like a black author. Don’t let white guilt get the best of you.
He’s a journalist rather than an academic; most journalists that write works like this are writing about personal experiences. Like, just offhand, Jon Ronson does the same, even if the subject matter is very different.
It’s just the genre he’s working in. And it’s a useful one. There’s lots of people that are put off by more academic, impersonal texts, and just won’t get the message if it’s not presented in a more personal, accessible format.
If you’re open to the ideas he’s presenting, but find that how he’s doing it isn’t resonating with you, that’s fine. Not every book is for everybody, which is good, because that frees you up to read the ones that are for you (and there are plenty that explore similar themes that might be for you).