This is by far the most psychologically and emotionally distressing book I may have ever read. Don't get me wrong though it was an excellent read and extremely immersive. However, it is definitely not something you read and expect to have a pleasant night sleeping. I've had really disturbing dreams for two nights in a row as is.What's great about it is the concept of the book. In the world of the book, the people that were considered the 'slave-race' and discriminated were those with white skin and fair hair whereas the brown-skinned people were the ones in charge. I had a paradigm shift just reading it and I'm not even African American. What more if a white man picks this book up to read.
Basically the story is about two children - a Nought and a Cross - called Callum and Sephy growing up in a society where hatred and discrimination among both races run rampant. But how can they take control of their lives and be together if the society they live in is so immersed in their own feelings of hatred and helplessness?
Experiencing racism that you associate with the blacks through a white man's eyes gives one a lot of food for thought. It also makes it a very painful read because you're experiencing the character's pain. I think that's why I could not sleep because I felt so distraught and the impact the book made was so immense that it manifested itself in my dreams.
Usually, I try to keep a post about a book as objective as I can. However, as I have mentioned, it is written through the characters point of view and the scenarios and outcomes were so realistic and well-thought out I may as well have been reading an actual biography.
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