The Big Box by Toni Morrison (Review)

Toni Morrison's novels have always combined a deep psychological insight with a vigorous critique of society. It is not surprising then that this approach is replicated in her lesser-known work, The Big Box. This book, aimed at children eight-years-old and up, is a thoughtful exposé of what happens when adults attempt to determine children's limits. Told from the points of view of three 'feisty kids' who just can't handle their freedom, the book addresses issues like the generational gap, the meaning of innocence and the stifling of children's individuality nowadays.Through Patty, Mickey and Liza Sue's eyes, we learn of the world that has been created for them by adults. It's a big brown box with swings and slides, and a canopy bed but the door only opens one way. It has carpets, curtains and beanbag chairs but the door has three big locks. The children's parents visit them frequently and bring them presents, but how can that compare with actual freedom?

The book's two other major collaborators are Slade Morrison, Toni Morrison's son, who was only nine when he devised this story and Giselle Porter, whose illustrations transport the reader vividly to the enclosed world that awaits Patty, Mickey and Liza Sue inside the Big Box. This text is a must-read not just for children but also for adults who sometimes think they know better and end up limiting children's individuality.

This review appeared first on Catch a Vibe, a new online alternative guide to black culture in London.

Copyright 2009

Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism by Derrick Bell

Is racism still alive and kicking in 21st century USA? Are black people doomed to fail despite the achievements of the Civil Rights Era? And who is responsible for this situation, blacks or whites?

These and other questions are asked and analysed in detail by the influential writer and academic Derrick Bell in his book 'Faces at the Bottom of the Well' (the title is based on a quote by W.E.B. Du Bois) and his conclusions are rather pessimistic. To Bell, “racism is an integral, permanent and indestructible component of this [American] society”. These are hardly encouraging words in a year when a Democratic candidate is running to become the first black president of the United States of America. But with typical pragmatism Bell sweeps aside suggestions that the US is heading towards a state of racial harmony.

That this book came out in 1992, when the Bill Clinton era was ushered in, should in no way be a deterrent to a reader in 2008. In chapters like 'The Racial Preference Licensing Act' and 'The Space Traders' we see examples of how even under the administration of a 'racially moderate' President, the mechanics of the racial debate have changed and become subtler. In 'The Racial Preference Licensing Act', Bell imagines a USA where people could apply for a license authorising them to exclude or separate persons on the basis of race and colour. One of the conclusions he arrives at is that such an act, illogical and crazy as it might sound, would work in black people's favour: at last they would stop second-guessing whether they are being discriminated against, as everything would be out in the open.

And as the race for the White House enters its final bend, issues like these, explored and masterfully debated, will make all the difference when it comes to marking those ballot papers.

This review appeared first on Catch a Vibe, a new online alternative guide to black culture in London.

Copyright 2008

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

In the darkness of Giovanni's Room the reader comes across not only a love affair that blossoms between two people but also a story that defies preconceptions. James Baldwin's 1957 novel proved to be controversial for various reasons: the main characters are two white men; it takes place in Paris, far away from the social upheaval the US was undergoing at the time. And finally it places the theme of homosexuality, still a taboo subject in most black literature, at the heart of the narrative.

Baldwin's standing as a writer did not suffer too much as he had already published a very successful novel (Go Tell it On the Mountain) and a trail-blazing collection of essays, Native Son. Therefore Giovanni's Room was seen mainly as an exploration into themes like homosexual love, misogyny and the cultural gap between nations.

David's confusion renders the novel its tragic tone. In trying to commit to his girlfriend and attempting to keep Giovanni, David leads the latter towards his tragic fate. Critics have always been divided as to whether the outcome of the affair was intended as punishment for Giovanni, the only one of the two men who wants to take their relationship further.

In the same way that David in the novel is faced with the choice between his American fiancée and his European boyfriend, Baldwin, too, grappled with alienation from the culture whence he came. His intention was to be acknowledged simply as a writer, yet the pervasive racism in the United States hindered those ambitions. Hence Giovanni's Room importance in freeing the young Baldwin and allowing him to wander through territories that most black writers at that time would have eschewed.

This review appeared first on Catch a Vibe, a new online alternative guide to black culture in London.

Copyright 2008