Blackass MP3 CD – Unabridged, September 6, 2016

My first Nigerian novel. This was a great book for me, someone who generally only reads non-fiction. The story was modern, not too sophisticated, but thought provoking, funny and interesting enough fit me to keep reading. the writing is fantastic, the author really brings you beside the characters and in Lagos. The end isn't really a twist as many if the reviews suggested. I'm still trying to find a good synopsis to help me understand the moral, if there is one...the little gem in between chapters were great though

As many reviewers mentioned, the premise of the story is interesting and even the plot twist was thought provoking. The lead character has an unexpected life altering change of skin color. Furo, is not the most endearing protagonist. In his desperation to navigate life with a new identity he seems very self absorbed and callous towards those who offer assistance. While the author intended to demonstrate privilege, overtime it seemed to be a flaw in the lead characters personality.The author took me on a journey and spent much of the time on the mundane and left the more intriguing parts unresolved. In the end the book was anticlimactic. It almost seemed that the author intended to write a part two to explain to the audience what happens in the end.

“Blackass” is funny and intriguing, however it feels underdeveloped. It touches on several topics such as identity, race, social and economical status, and gender dynamics, yet it doesn’t go deep in most of those topics. Race is the most developed one, as it shows how being white in Nigeria immediately opens doors. It notices that there is a clear discrimination based on false biase that white people work better than black people, hence white people get better job opportunities. It also implies that becoming white makes Furo selfish and agressive, because of his power, or simply because of his whiteness.The novel also develops gender with the idea of the “sugar daddy” and characters like Syreeta take advantage of being in this situation with a clear plan. This seems similar to other Nigerian novels like Americanah. The most intriguing female character in my opinion is Furo’s sister, she is self aware, kind of independent and light hearted, which contradict some of the female stereotypes in African novels.Nevertheless, the novel reflects a Nigerian reality of unemployement with a funny lense, which in a sense is refreshing, as there aren’t many funny African novels.

This is a re-imagining of Kafka's The Metamorphosis, and while it's a great concept, ultimately, it falls flat. I wanted to love this novel. I tried. But the characterization gets confusing and the plot gets really convoluted. It's difficult to follow.

I was not impressed. The Kafka-like premise of the book was not developed, and the bottom line was: the guy turned white and became a complete egotistical ass. No hope for redemption for us white people. The only interesting twist was a parallel transformation by the writer, but that was not developed either. Disappointed...

Recommended by a pal and I have no clue what happens. Perhaps because it is an excerpt? I thought I was buying the book.

Aside from the main character (you know, the one with the black..ahem..the black behind) being kind of a (complete)...twit, this book was really good. It's narrative flits between our title character and another person he meets on his 2nd day of being white, someone who is going through their own personal transformation. This sort of parallel story is a great lens in which to view Furo's journey (and vice-versa, which is probably the way you are supposed to).When Furo wakes up as a white man on the morning of a job interview, he freaks out (naturally) and makes a lot of questionable decisions that he is constantly trying to justify to himself, including breaking all communication with his family (he's very concerned they will reject the new pale him). While the protagonist is not very sympathetic (did turning white also turn him into an @** or was he before the book started, too?) the author does a fantastic job of showing the perks and the perils included in being either a white man *or* a black man in contemporary Nigeria.I found the pidgin dialogue hard to follow (because I don't speak pidgin) and it was prevalent enough that I think I probably missed some good moments, but that did not detract from the story too much. I feel that it was a great book, with great writing, a great idea, and a kind of an extra dumb jerkface for a protagonist. Would have been 5 stars if I could have rooted for Furo's success a little more emphatically.

Interesting take on the Metamorphosis theme with the tones of race, class and advantage. While this story takes place in Nigeria and has the specifics of place and situation, it speaks to the larger moral questions or social responsibility and personal identity. It has a great ironic strand that works as social commentary on exceptionalism and pretense.

An engaging book with interesting characters. While the main character benefited from a lot of character development, Some of the other supporting characters did not. Some aspects of the book and potential sub stories were not covered in sufficient depth in my opinion. Overall though, it is still an intriguing book with a sense of humour.

This would be a modern classic, with a main protagonist who is both original and believable if only it hadn't finished about half way through the story. I was left feeling that there was so much more to tell. I would like to know more about his future, did Igoni remain a friend after all, how did their relationship develop, did he really let his family find him and how did they cope? I hope this is only volume one.

I found the whole tale strangely boring and annoying at the same time and, try as I might, I could not engage with any of the characters in the story. This idea of the book had so much potential but the story just never went anywhere and the ending left me wondering even more what the author actually tried to achieve.

First time buying one of Barretts books, great read, realistic writer. Arrived quickly and well packaged

Great read!! My only gripe was the ending, it made me mad as hell! (Hence my expression in the picture) Definitely money well spent, though.