Before I begin, I just want to document how well this blog is working to keep me motivated and accountable. I’ve already read over ten books and it’s barely March (I’m behind on writing blogs for some of those books, though).
Alright, onto the task at hand. I’ve had Nafissa Thompson-Spires Heads of the Colored People on my shelf for some time now. I remember feeling a bit disappointed to learn that it was a collection of short stories, a detailed I overlooked when picking it up, and owed to the fatigue I felt from reading too many short stories last year. I really do love the form, but I sometimes find it difficult to remain interested throughout an entire collection, and I am often tempted to supplement them with novels, which only prolongs the issue, decreases my motivation, sense of accomplishment, etc.
In any case, I was in the perfect mood and mindset to read Heads of the Colored People this past month. I had no idea what to expect, and it wasn’t until I completed the book that I read Thompson-Spires’ declaration that she set out to write about the Black middle class and its complexities. And that she does, expertly. From the very first story I knew I was in for a ride as a “blue-eyed, wig-wearing brother in a purple suit” gets into a conflict on the sidewalk with a dystopian comic series writer named Brother Man. Later, two mothers write increasingly hostile letters to one another about their children who are not getting along with one another, in spite of being the only Black children in their school. Some stories are cruel (one incredibly so, but I won’t spoil it for you, but you’ll know it when you come to it), many laugh-out-loud funny, and all of them clever.
It’s been a long time since I felt, so clearly, that an author was having a conversation with me —not just telling me a story. I was reluctant to leave the world Thompson-Spires created for me in these stories, but suspect I will be back soon.