Do we talk/read/think enough about race(s)? About bi-racial families/couples? About their struggles to fit in in each of their separate, racially distinguished families? About how bi-racial children feel about the discussion about race? About racism and racial discrimination in the public space? In America. And elsewhere. Especially in America those days.
For some, one might really go through such a challenge to understand the deep roots of racism. Everywhere, both within the majority and the minority.
Mira Jacob's son is born in an Indian-Jewish family in India. He has questions like: Can you change from white to black - or the other way round? Is it bad to be brown? How bad?
All her life Mira herself had her own race experience, both in India and in the USA. Often not recognized as an American in USA, being the wrong colour in India.
Good Talk is indeed a 'memoir in conversations' which approaches race and colour on a very humorous, cynically-ironical way. Any discussion on such issue do have, besides a serious and dramatical layer, also a very humorous aspect. How else can one comment discussions about 'how to get a lighter skin' - apparently it is possible and there are some intensively trying to do it.
Humour, irony, the literary approach does not matter. It is important to keep the conversation going on. Because it looks like there no end in sight. The aggressive Trump era brought back the old evils and it seems like the discussion never advanced. Therefore, the need to challenge again the old racially-biased narrative. A book like Good Talk plays a serious role in this approach.
Last but not least a short mention about the format of the book. I've listen to the audio version, narrated by the author. An excellent choice as the lecture adds unique dynamics to the subject, especially the dialogues. It encourages me to get more audio books and this is what I am doing right now and can't wait to share more about this new 'reading' experience.
Rating: 4 stars
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