Io contra Statelor Unite ale Americii. Paul Beatty

A Black man tries to put his town back on the map. His acts bring him before America’s highest court. He grew up in Dickens, a poor farm town outside Los Angeles. His father studied how people live and act in groups. His work drew dispute. He used his son in studies of race and the mind. The son hoped his father’s planned journal would solve their money woes. Then police kill his father in a clash. The son learns that no such journal exists. He gets no income and must pay a funeral bill.

Officials have wiped Dickens off the map to spare California shame. The town feels despair, and the narrator tries to undo this loss. Hominy Jenkins helps him. He is well known in town and once worked as a film extra. Their plan brings back slavery. It also splits pupils by race at the local high school. This leads to a case before the United States Supreme Court.

Paul Beatty’s novel uses dark wit to mock and probe race. It also looks at pop culture and American politics. It questions claims of equal rights and the ideas behind the Constitution. It takes aim at city life and the civil rights movement. It also probes ties between fathers and sons. A Chinese restaurant serves Black diners. It, too, plays a part in the book’s view of equal rights across races. This edition is part of the Clasici contemporani series.