Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
I am looking forward to getting this collection of short stories. They sound like stories that I could relate to personally. So far the reviews that I have seen have been positive, although no one that I follow has had an ARC and reviewed early. I'm looking forward to reading more reviews as they come out. I will probably go and look through at a bookstore to get a feel of the writing in this one, but fingers crossed it will be a good one!
Calling to mind the best works of Paul Beatty and Junot Díaz, this collection of moving, timely, and darkly funny stories examines the concept of black identity in this so-called post-racial era.
A stunning new talent in literary fiction, Nafissa Thompson-Spires grapples with black identity and the contemporary middle class in these compelling, boundary-pushing vignettes.
Each captivating story plunges headfirst into the lives of new, utterly original characters. Some are darkly humorous—from two mothers exchanging snide remarks through notes in their kids' backpacks, to the young girl contemplating how best to notify her Facebook friends of her impending suicide—while others are devastatingly poignant—a new mother and funeral singer who is driven to madness with grief for the young black boys who have fallen victim to gun violence, or the teen who struggles between her upper middle class upbringing and her desire to fully connect with black culture.
Thompson-Spires fearlessly shines a light on the simmering tensions and precariousness of black citizenship. Her stories are exquisitely rendered, satirical, and captivating in turn, engaging in the ongoing conversations about race and identity politics, as well as the vulnerability of the black body. Boldly resisting categorization and easy answers, Nafissa Thompson-Spires is an original and necessary voice in contemporary fiction.
(Photo via Google search)
I didn't find much on Thomposon-Spires except for a very brief profile on the author information section of the Simon & Schuster website.
Nafissa Thompson-Spires earned a doctorate in English from ­­­­Vanderbilt University and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from ­­­­­­the University of Illinois. Her work has appeared in Story Quarterly, Lunch Ticket, and The Feminist Wire, among other publications. She is a 2016 fellow of the Callaloo Writer's Workshop.
Labels: African American Fiction, black writers, New/Upcoming Releases
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