The Black Notebooks: An Interior Journey

By Toi Derricotte

Book Overview

A light-skinned black woman, Toi Derricotte moved to an all-white neighborhood near New York City 20 years ago and began making journal entries of encounters with neighbors, family, and colleagues. The result is a brilliant and painful document about the complexity of race in America.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393045447
• ISBN13: 9780393045444
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc
• Length: 205 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.0" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Who you are will shape this book for you

At least I think it will. Reading it as a white female, I feel that this book helped me realize (and at least make my way towards understanding) the constant awareness of race that nonwhites feel while walking around. I read this book as part of a class in which we read many other texts about race and so it was one of many that helped me with this. It might seem silly, but it was very easy for me before to ignore the pressure and importance that race plays in everyday life in America. I may not be aware of it, but every day the fact that I am white allows me privilege that I would not otherwise have. Call it my own ignorance, but for me that is what this book was about. Someone else will read it differently, depending on their history and race. For me, one of the good things about this book was that it helped show that racism was more than just the individual prejudices of a few people but was not written in an academic way. One of the other reviewers complained that Derricotte seems to want everything - pass in the white world as white and be accepted in the black community. That might be true, but that is not the feeling that the book left me with - and that might be because I am white and thus perhaps do not understand the consequences of racism as well. Call it as you will. I loved the book, although it was hard for me to read. But it might not have the same impact on you as it did on me. (By the way, I am reading the tag suggestions and what does the Rwandan Genocide have to do with a book about a light-skinned African-American woman in upper-class America? What is wrong with these tags?)

A complex and nuanced memoir.

The book is structured as a series of journal entries, but it is nevertheless carefully considered and constructed. It provides an unusual perspective on racism in America, from the perspective of a very light skinned African American woman. She recounts her experiences in vivid detail, and they are intellectually and emotionally powerful. Most importantly, Derricotte does not settle for simple analyses or easy answers, but lets the complexity of her life and her place in various communities come through, with all the attendant messiness. As such, I'm not surprised that this book has drawn widely disparate reviews from readers. I consider it DEFINITELY worth reading.

Powerful

I liked the book, and I really wanted more about certain things. It's interesting to get a glimpse into her world and its extraordinary circumstances. Her story helps to identify the nuances of racism today. Also, she zeroes us in on some very intimate moments in her life, and that raises questions about human relations in general. I thought it was brave of her to share like this. I'm sure I would read another installment if she wrote one.

Powerful, Engaging, Affirming

Derricotte's fascinating discussion of her life as a light-skinned, black women in white America is overwhelmingly powerful. Her blunt, but compassionate prose clearly illuminates the myriad of conflicts encountered within our diverse society. Particularly striking was writing detailing her experiences of living in a predominately white neighborhood, and her soul-searching interactions with her darker-skinned husband. In addition, vignettes focusing on her experiences within the classroom starkly illustrated how even the youngest members of our culture must navigate the complexities of race. Her ability to represent and authenticate the struggles and rages she faces as a woman of color was particularly affirming to myself as I address similar issues in my own life. Derricotte's work is cogent and timely. And those who permit themselves to read her intelligent composition will finish enlightened and fulfilled.

Outstanding!

This book is deliciously disturbing. You will not be able to look at people and the concept of race in the same way after reading this masterpiece. It is truely one of those books that is worth reading again!