First, I read Prognosis: A Memoir of My Brain by Sarah Vallance. This is in the Amazon First Reads series, pre-publication books that are available early to Kindle Unlimited readers.
It's incredibly well written and fascinating. Sarah is a difficult person with a tremendously troubled family life, which surely contributes to her attitudes and actions. Her triumph over traumatic brain injury is amazing and fascinating.
What, then, to read next?
I had picked up Tomb of the Unknown Racist by Blanche McCrary Boyd from the local library's New Acquisitions shelf. The jacket flap indicated that this was the third book in a trilogy, but each could stand on their own.
I checked it out and then, listening to an inner voice, read the other two on Kindle first. It was the right choice.
None of this is light or easy reading, but it is fascinating and compelling. Violence, sexual politics, Southern heritage and that form of racism learned at the breast, all resounded for me.
The Revolution of Little Girls
sets up the story and characters. Time turns and curves in this novel, and I found myself moving around and back. Ellen Burns, the protagonist, has much in common with author Boyd.
shows Ellen in the next phase of her life, a passionate and dangerous series of events including a radical feminist commune.
Finally, Tomb of the Unknown Racist explodes into exploration of white supremacist action in America today. It's a finalist for the Pen/Faulkner award and a great candidate.
This book will horrify you, scare you, and amaze you. Through binge-reading these books, I've come to care about Ellen and this story. Racism has many sides and I think that we who are called white can profitably examine our own complicity through fiction, as well as in other ways.
In addition, Sarah Vallance and Blanche Boyd are openly lesbian authors, as is Ellen is as a character. Lesbian fiction doesn't always come across my path, and as a cis-het woman I'm not usually looking for it. Reading these four books in sequence gave me a bit of an extended experience, also valuable in terms of cognitive dissonance.
