RaveOnyx (UK)Caleb Azumah Nelson has captured a portrayal that is both unbending and unapologetic. Blackness is neither deified nor detested. It is simply allowed to be. Freedom is at the core of this novel. The question of whether liberty is possible within suppression is something that Nelson dwells upon, and he portrays beautifully through words and the moments when that liberty is afforded to Black men and women ... an in-depth analysis of how it can feel to be Black in today’s Britain, and the everyday hostility that can haunt Black people within the United Kingdom ... it is comforting and warm yet refreshing. You find yourself smiling at the pages, resonating. That feeling of representation is crucial, especially as the experience of seeing oneself as a Black person within a novel is so rare. Nelson, therefore, creates a space where a Black reader’s feelings are neither overlooked nor insulted, but the readers are able simply to enjoy the experience conjured up by this book ... I am grateful to Nelson for portraying the reality of so many.
