I picked this one up because I've only recently realised how few books I've read by authors of colour (to my shame). I didn't know a lot about The Sellout; only that I'd seen it recommended by several people, and it was available (as an ebook) at my local library. That was good enough for me.



The book opens with our main character on trial in the Supreme Court. The bulk of the story tells us the story of the Sellout - who he is, and how he got there. Born in the "agrarian ghetto" of Dickens, on the outskirts of LA, Bonbon (as he is more affectionately known) was raised by a behavioural scientist father, who saw Bonbon more as the subject of an experiment than as his son, and makes his living as a farmer. I'll let him tell you the rest himself.

The Sellout won't be to everyone's taste. While I was reading this one, someone asked me if I'd recommend it, and I found it a difficult question to answer. I loved this book. I would quite happily have read it in one sitting if time had permitted, and found myself frequently thinking about the story. But the biting satirical tone won't be for everyone - one review I read described it as not a book to read if you're easily offended. Some of the humour was certainly audacious.

This is an excellent book for thinking about racism and race equality, in an (dare I say) original and witty manner. By serendipity, this was exactly the book I wanted to read. It introduced me to a new Black author, it helped me to continue thinking about race in a very different way to the material I've been reading and watching, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I think that if you like Jonathan Franzen's books, you'll enjoy this one. If you liked this one, I'd recommend the IQ series by Joe Ide. I was also reminded of the 2019 film The Day Shall Come, although perhaps the satirical ideas are more fully fleshed out here than in that film.