First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.


Born in the “agrarian ghetto” of Dickens on the outskirts of LA, the narrator of The Sellout is brought up to believe his father’s racially charged psychological studies will lead to a memoir that will solve their financial woes. But when his father is killed in a police shoot-out, all that’s left is the bill for a drive-through funeral. Fuelled by this deceit, the narrator sets out to right another wrong. Dickens has literally been wiped off the map to save LA from embarrassment, so he initiates the most outrageous action conceivable: reinstating slavery and segregation, which lands him the Supreme Court.

Wow, 2021 sure is not wasting its time. In 10 days, February will start. Whoa, just wait up. I still haven’t been able to recover from the soreness I experienced during the holiday season but the second month of the year is already over the horizon. My body is not yet prepared for another tedious month-end closing. But what can I do? I am but subservient to the flow of time. And time must flow.

Friday also means a First Impression Friday update. I am currently reading Paul Beatty’s The Sellout. Although I am setting my eye on the 2020 Man Booker Prize winner, Shuggie Bain, I instead have the 2016 Man Booker Prize winner. I guess it is not a shabby choice. I wouldn’t have dreamt of buying the book had it not won the Man Booker Prize as I have neither heard of nor encountered Paul Beatty or his works. Nonetheless, The Sellout is my seventh read for the year.

I just start reading The Sellout today, after finishing Anne Tyler’s 2020 Man Booker Prize longlisted work, Redhead by the Side of the Road. I just completed reading the prologue and the first chapter so yes, not decent enough progress to form a stern judgment of the story. The prologue was quite verbose though, quite lengthy for a prologue. However, it did give me a glimpse of the narrator’s mind. He is in Washington making his way through to the Supreme Court. It makes me curious. What crime has he committed? This has piqued my curiosity, especially after rereading the novel’s synopsis.

First impressions? The writing evokes in me memories of Marlon James’ A Brief History of Seven Killings. The story is also wrapped in a shroud of mystery. The narrator is also a mystery as he is unnamed at the start. It seems that he remains unnamed until the end of the story. I do get the impression that it delves into politics and social issues. A lot about the book remains a mystery to me but I am looking forward to what it has in store. Hopefully, I get to complete it over the weekend.

How about you fellow reader, what book are you going to read this weekend? I hope it is a book that you’ve been looking forward to and I hope you enjoy it. Keep safe, and happy weekend!

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