Blackass
Igoni Barrett
[Graywolf Press]
In true Gregor Samsa-esque fashion, Lagos native Furo Wariboko awakes one day to find that he is no longer black, but white, and that he has red hair and green eyes. There is one catch rendering this unexpected transformation incomplete, however. As the title aptly suggests, Furo still has a black ass, hinting at a trope explored throughout the novel: that certain characteristics may not be easily swept aside. When Furo tries to whiten his ass with bleaching creams and eventually changes his name to Frank Whyte, he develops a very painful rash, and the Nigerians he interacts with are always shocked to find that he too has a Nigerian accent.
Blackass narrates the happenings in Furo’s life after the discovery of his new appearance moves him to flee his family’s home – from standing out as a white man, to aceing an interview for a job he does not necessarily deserve any more than the other contenders, or to quickly finding a wealthy girlfriend who houses him when he has nowhere else to go. Barrett’s novel forces the reader to consider important questions regarding the human condition and is a worthwhile read precisely because of the difficult questions it raises: What is it that makes a person the person he or she is? Is that person the same person as before, even after certain changes have taken place? And more contentiously, what privileges can being white confer upon the bearer of that skin colour?
Words: Cristina Tomàs
