Floating In A Most Peculiar Way: A Memoir
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- Synopsis
- The astonishing journey of a bright, utterly displaced boy, from the short-lived African nation of Biafra, to Jamaica, to the harshest streets of Los Angeles—a searing memoir that adds fascinating depth to the coming-to-America storyThe first time Chude-Sokei realizes that he is &“first son of the first son&” of a renowned leader of the bygone African nation is in Uncle Daddy and Big Auntie&’s strict religious household in Jamaica, where he lives with other abandoned children. A visiting African has just fallen to his knees to shake him by the shoulders: &“Is this the boy? Is this him?&”Chude-Sokei&’s immersion in the politics of race and belonging across the landscape of the African diaspora takes a turn when his traumatized mother, who has her own extraordinary history as the onetime &“Jackie O of Biafra,&” finally sends for him to come live with her. In Inglewood, Los Angeles, on the eve of gangsta rap and the LA riots, it&’s as if he&’s fallen to Earth. In this world, anything alien—definitely Chude-Sokei&’s secret obsession with science fiction and David Bowie—is a danger, and his yearning to become a Black American gets deeply, sometimes absurdly, complicated. Ultimately, it is a boisterous pan-African family of honorary aunts, uncles, and cousins that becomes his secret society, teaching him the redemptive skill of navigating not just Blackness, but Blacknesses, in his America.
- Copyright:
- 2021
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Publisher Quality
- Book Size:
- 243 Pages
- ISBN-13:
- 9781328781079
- Related ISBNs:
- 9780358639701
- Publisher:
- HarperCollins
- Date of Addition:
- 04/24/24
- Copyrighted By:
- status in your country.
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- Entertainment, Nonfiction, Biographies and Memoirs, Social Studies
- Submitted By:
- Bookshare Staff
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.