Fiction

I Am Not Sidney Poitier

I Am Not Sidney Poitier

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-10-27 09:54:40
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Percival Everett
  • ISBN：1555975275
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Summary

An irresistible comic novel from the master storyteller Percival Everett， and an irreverent take on race， class， and identity in America

I was， in life， to be a gambler， a risk-taker， a swashbuckler， a knight。 I accepted， then and there， my place in the world。 I was a fighter of windmills。 I was a chaser of whales。 I was Not Sidney Poitier。

Not Sidney Poitier is an amiable young man in an absurd country。 The sudden death of his mother orphans him at age eleven， leaving him with an unfortunate name， an uncanny resemblance to the famous actor， and， perhaps more fortunate， a staggering number of shares in the Turner Broadcasting Corporation。

Percival Everett’s hilarious new novel follows Not Sidney’s tumultuous life， as the social hierarchy scrambles to balance his skin color with his fabulous wealth。 Maturing under the less-than watchful eye of his adopted foster father， Ted Turner， Not gets arrested in rural Georgia for driving while black， sparks a dinnertable explosion at the home of his manipulative girlfriend， and sleuths a murder case in Smut Eye， Alabama， all while navigating the recurrent communication problem: “What’s your name？” a kid would ask。 “Not Sidney，” I would say。 “Okay， then what is it？”

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Reviews

Rick ，

First rate satire/social commentary。 Everett can be pretty funny in lampooning race and American culture。 The book ends flatly and abruptly so points off for that。 Paul Beatty’s the sellout is a better and funnier book but I am inclined to read more by the prolific Everett。

Stephan Benzkofer ，

Funny is hard。 A funny literary novel is the equivalent of hitting a Major League curveball。 Actually， it is much harder。 Hundreds of people can hit that damn curveball。 Very few people could pull off I Am Not Sidney Poitier。 Percival Everett manages to be funny in all phases of the game: dialogue， narration， and situation。 In some cases， laugh-out-loud funny。 （Yes， LOL。）This absurdist gem features Ted Turner （fictionalized， surely！） and the author himself （fictionalized， surely？） as they help a Funny is hard。 A funny literary novel is the equivalent of hitting a Major League curveball。 Actually， it is much harder。 Hundreds of people can hit that damn curveball。 Very few people could pull off I Am Not Sidney Poitier。 Percival Everett manages to be funny in all phases of the game: dialogue， narration， and situation。 In some cases， laugh-out-loud funny。 （Yes， LOL。）This absurdist gem features Ted Turner （fictionalized， surely！） and the author himself （fictionalized， surely？） as they help a young Not Sidney Poitier find his way in the world。 Read it and enjoy the trip。 。。。more

Claudia Cutter ，

Smart， funny， and sad satire about racism in America。 This is the second Everett novel I've read and his talent for concocting the most bizarre scenarios is super impressive。 He is always doing some weird shit that I like。。。 for example， he randomly inserts himself as a minor character in this novel。 There is。。。 a lot of sexism here though， gotta say。 How can male authors be so smart in every other way， yet continue to be so sexist， especially in a book focused on critiquing other forms of oppre Smart， funny， and sad satire about racism in America。 This is the second Everett novel I've read and his talent for concocting the most bizarre scenarios is super impressive。 He is always doing some weird shit that I like。。。 for example， he randomly inserts himself as a minor character in this novel。 There is。。。 a lot of sexism here though， gotta say。 How can male authors be so smart in every other way， yet continue to be so sexist， especially in a book focused on critiquing other forms of oppression？？ I continue to be amazed by the cognitive dissonance of men， but whatever， that is hardly news and I enjoyed this regardless！！ 。。。more

Ryan Farnham ，

"。。。 As always， in an attempt to understand something， I raised my hand。'Yes？" he said。 " Mr。 Poitier''I'm sorry， but are you saying that thing cannot exist without its opposite also existing？''I don't know，' he said and looked truly puzzled。 'Am I？''Is there an opposite to existence？' My question felt unbelievably stupid in my mouth。'Precisely，' he said。 'Dismissed。' And so goes the main character of the book， Not Syndey Poitier， as he wanders throughout Poitier's filmography。 His （not Syndey's） "。。。 As always， in an attempt to understand something， I raised my hand。'Yes？" he said。 " Mr。 Poitier''I'm sorry， but are you saying that thing cannot exist without its opposite also existing？''I don't know，' he said and looked truly puzzled。 'Am I？''Is there an opposite to existence？' My question felt unbelievably stupid in my mouth。'Precisely，' he said。 'Dismissed。' And so goes the main character of the book， Not Syndey Poitier， as he wanders throughout Poitier's filmography。 His （not Syndey's） actions defined in contrast to Sidney。 Not being familiar with much of Syndey's work I didn't realize this until he was in the negative of Guess Who's Coming for Dinner which culminates in a mic dropping summation of Not Syndey's disgust with his host family in the middle of Thanksgiving Dinner。Not Syndey is used as a vehicle to explore the actions of the character Sydney played。 He deconstructed the idea of Sydney Poitier by occupying the negative space around the ideal。 It's a meta comedic examination on the narrow expectation of black， male behavior without overtly addressing it。 Very clever and extremely good read。 。。。more

Lucy Kent ，

One of the best books I’ve read all year， going to to go on Percival Everett marathon

Nicole Mullen ，

I loved this book。 It reminded me of The Stranger， by Camu， of Nausea， by Sartre， and reminded me how absurd life can be。 It was an engaging read， even though it was told with the strange nonchalance of absurdism。 It was poignant， and I needed something like this to keep me grounded in summer。

Diane ，

Everett creates and recreates some fun characters in this novel including Ted Turner of Turner Broadcasting fame with his wife Jane， Professor Everett （a parody of himself， or not） and of course，'Not Sydney'。 I liked the tie in to the real Sydney Poitier movies which I must admit I didn't pick up immediately since I haven't seen or don't remember alot of them。 Makes me want to watch the movies （which are always good） and then read again。 I didn't quite understand the dream sequences and after me Everett creates and recreates some fun characters in this novel including Ted Turner of Turner Broadcasting fame with his wife Jane， Professor Everett （a parody of himself， or not） and of course，'Not Sydney'。 I liked the tie in to the real Sydney Poitier movies which I must admit I didn't pick up immediately since I haven't seen or don't remember alot of them。 Makes me want to watch the movies （which are always good） and then read again。 I didn't quite understand the dream sequences and after meeting the professor I'm not sure I was supposed to。 Unfortunately the absurd racist situations in Not Sidney's experiences sometimes mirror reality， and then the message is not so funny。 。。。more

Tom Bond ，

Hilarious and fascinating metaphor for race and identity。

Kaye ，

4。5 even。 Laughs。 Terror。 Sadness。 Am I or am I not who I think I am？

Candice （Blackbiracialandbookish） Hale ，

Percival Everett’s 𝙄 𝘼𝙢 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙎𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙋𝙤𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙧 cautions us against thinking the U。S。 is now post-racial。 In a satirical and humorous novel， Everett slyly uses Not Sidney to teach readers just how much the world has not changed in regards to race relations。 Through his escapades through Peckerwood County， Georgia， Washington， D。C。， and Smuteye， Alabama， Not Sidney Poitier feels the sting of his blackness。 While the reader understands the inherent racism and discrimination he faces in each respective Percival Everett’s 𝙄 𝘼𝙢 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙎𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙋𝙤𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙧 cautions us against thinking the U。S。 is now post-racial。 In a satirical and humorous novel， Everett slyly uses Not Sidney to teach readers just how much the world has not changed in regards to race relations。 Through his escapades through Peckerwood County， Georgia， Washington， D。C。， and Smuteye， Alabama， Not Sidney Poitier feels the sting of his blackness。 While the reader understands the inherent racism and discrimination he faces in each respective space， Not Sidney’s reactions are never quite angry enough but just subtle enough to make him appear bothered。 But by employing this strategy here， Everett attempts to blind his protagonist from the racial landscapes he enters so that he fails to recognize his blackness as threatening or inferior。 Obviously， Everett makes note of this by putting Not Sidney in the awkward position of not only having a similar name to famed black actor Sidney Poitier but also giving him a stunning， physical resemblance to the actor。 By using Sidney Poitier as some type of ideal black man， Everett hopes to suggest that Sidney Poitier is a safe black man that white America can accept and his protagonist’s resemblance may offer him some leniency to avoid racism and discrimination， but as the narrative plays out a young Not Sidney Poitier comes to understand that his blackness thrust him into dangerous and perplexing situations where no black man is really safe。 Throughout 𝙄 𝘼𝙢 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙎𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙋𝙤𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙧， Everett cleverly utilizes Not Sidney’s racial identity as both markers of invisibility and visibility to show the inherent contradictions of what it means to be a black man in any part of the U。S。 To make mention of the U。S。 as post-racial is just as funny a thought as the characters presented throughout the novel。 Everett is able to demonstrate that even when a black man chooses not to be what others expect of him， a black man is still marked by the color of his skin。Everett is a literary genius—just read the book！ 。。。more

Nat ，

The best nonsense。

John ，

I came across this book by accident， and I'm glad I did。 It is very funny。 Its plot has no credibility whatsoever， but it uses humour - often of a laugh-out-loud quality - to explore the racism which an all but innocent young black man encounters in a series of incidents and journeys。 In a nice twist， as well as having a ridiculous name， the protagonist is also stupendously rich。 This somehow makes the racism even more obvious and disturbing。 Everett successfully engages the reader's attention t I came across this book by accident， and I'm glad I did。 It is very funny。 Its plot has no credibility whatsoever， but it uses humour - often of a laugh-out-loud quality - to explore the racism which an all but innocent young black man encounters in a series of incidents and journeys。 In a nice twist， as well as having a ridiculous name， the protagonist is also stupendously rich。 This somehow makes the racism even more obvious and disturbing。 Everett successfully engages the reader's attention through humour， then challenges him or her to engage with their own and other people's racist attitudes。 I loved it and I'm already looking to see what else Everett has written。 。。。more

Virginia ，

Percival Everett is a great American author in the tradition of Updike， probably better， who defies the label of a great black author although he is one。 He’s simply a great American modern writer deftly writing about the American black experience with adroitness， humor， and sensitivity。 He’s committed to his small press （Gray Wolf）。 Otherwise， maybe he’d be more popular among the academics， of which he is one。

Finn Stewart-Hayman ，

Effortlessly rich and playful but with some real depth behind it。 A GEM。

Em Gates ，

I understand that I am Not Sidney Poitier is a satire， one on race and perhaps media， but I didn't really like it。 Maybe it's because I prefer DeLillo's brand of postmodernism， which was briefly explored through Not Sidney's mother and her distrust of the media， but I feel like it's easy to miss the jokes in I Am Not Sidney Poitier unless one has the foreknowledge of the real-life Sidney Poitier and his career。 There were some really nice lines， but I just didn't enjoy the story much， and I stil I understand that I am Not Sidney Poitier is a satire， one on race and perhaps media， but I didn't really like it。 Maybe it's because I prefer DeLillo's brand of postmodernism， which was briefly explored through Not Sidney's mother and her distrust of the media， but I feel like it's easy to miss the jokes in I Am Not Sidney Poitier unless one has the foreknowledge of the real-life Sidney Poitier and his career。 There were some really nice lines， but I just didn't enjoy the story much， and I still don't really know why this book was written or what purpose it serves。If you find yourself confused or wondering what to do with this novel， as I did， I highly recommend reading Sarah Mantilla Griffin's article “This Strange Juggler’s Game: Forclusion in Percival Everett's Am Not Sidney Poitier。'" Griffin offers a useful reading of the text that explains the gradual splitting of Not Sidney's personality， which is a form of psychosis he inherits from his mother。 This helped me understand the novel， and without reading it， I'm not sure I would've appreciated any part of I Am Not Sidney Poitier。 。。。more

Xavier ，

I this is maybe the funniest book I’ve read， which is particularly impressive given that it makes more or less the same joke from start to finish。

Nadine ，

This was probably the weirdest thing I’ve ever read。 I kind of loved it。 It definitely made me cry。 Why did it make me cry？ It was just so absurd。

Aparna Kamath ，

Interesting book。 Definitely enjoyed at times and confused at other times。 Starting and stopping probably didn’t help either。

Kate ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I didn't choose this book， it was a mystery book club subscription。 If I had seen it in the bookshop， I probably wouldn't have picked it。 It took me a while to get around to it because it didn't sound like my kind of book。 It's definitely not my kind of book， but I had a fabulous time reading it。 I am Not Sidney Poitier combines absurd situations， author self-insertion， celebrity cameos and hypnotism into an unexpected， delightful story which is simultaneously a brutal look at racism in the US。 I didn't choose this book， it was a mystery book club subscription。 If I had seen it in the bookshop， I probably wouldn't have picked it。 It took me a while to get around to it because it didn't sound like my kind of book。 It's definitely not my kind of book， but I had a fabulous time reading it。 I am Not Sidney Poitier combines absurd situations， author self-insertion， celebrity cameos and hypnotism into an unexpected， delightful story which is simultaneously a brutal look at racism in the US。 As a white girl from the UK it covers some uncomfortable subject matter which i have no first-hand experience of， but given the media coverage of the last year， it's subject matter which more people are looking to learn more about， and this is an interesting and engaging lens。 I will look for more works by Percival Everett。This edition （influx press） loses one star because i started reading the introduction before the actual text， and it contained spoilers。 。。。more

Glendora ，

This was weird， absurd， and genuinely funny。

Celine ，

3。5 stars — “Don’t imagine that you have limitations” Picked this up because Sidney Poitier is Bahamian and in a way， the book has nothing and everything to do with that fact。 The plot did not disappoint。 It’s at times funny and made me go “？” in a good way。 Also a well written discussion about colorism amongst Black people。 An overall good read for my last book of 2020。

River of Pages ，

Brilliantly written magical realism that actually had me cracking up in public

Carol ，

An intriguing， tongue in cheek romp filled with sarcastic wit and guffaws。 Simply intelligent， thoughtful， good fun that's left me thinking。 Everett gets subtle points across with no need of lecture， self righteousness， or a club。 A good 2020 relief read。 An intriguing， tongue in cheek romp filled with sarcastic wit and guffaws。 Simply intelligent， thoughtful， good fun that's left me thinking。 Everett gets subtle points across with no need of lecture， self righteousness， or a club。 A good 2020 relief read。 。。。more

Justine ，

Brilliant。 What a writer。

Ashley Peel ，

A strangely captivating read， at once funny and unnerving， even though at times I couldn't be sure if what was happening was real or a dream。 Definitely a satirical piece on race with an unapologetic approach to the stereotypes of southern white societies。 Overcome your annoyance with the "Not" Sidney Poitier parts and embrace him as a character far deeper than his name。 A strangely captivating read， at once funny and unnerving， even though at times I couldn't be sure if what was happening was real or a dream。 Definitely a satirical piece on race with an unapologetic approach to the stereotypes of southern white societies。 Overcome your annoyance with the "Not" Sidney Poitier parts and embrace him as a character far deeper than his name。 。。。more

Tony Lindsay ，

Different， plot twist， engaging storyline， great dream scenes and side stories。

Jason ，

Clever and entertaining， but I feel like I would have gotten more out of it if I’d seen more Sidney Poitier movies。

Laura ，

This book was a confusing delight of a roller coaster， and I gobbled it down in just a few days。 I had a lot of fun while reading it， even if it couldn’t make sense of much of what was happening。 The book got me wondering: is it profound， or just confusing？The novel is organized around Not Sidney’s efforts to craft an identity for himself in the absence of any real family members and a name that defines who he isn’t rather than who he is。 His two closest friends and confidants – Ted Turner and P This book was a confusing delight of a roller coaster， and I gobbled it down in just a few days。 I had a lot of fun while reading it， even if it couldn’t make sense of much of what was happening。 The book got me wondering: is it profound， or just confusing？The novel is organized around Not Sidney’s efforts to craft an identity for himself in the absence of any real family members and a name that defines who he isn’t rather than who he is。 His two closest friends and confidants – Ted Turner and Percival Everett –are masters of non sequitur。 They readily acknowledge that their ideas have no logical flow， and Everett even teaches a course on nonsense。 None of the students are sure whether he is brilliant or a charlatan， though he insists he is faking it。The fact that the Everett character emphasizes that his work—in the story， his course on nonsense—is total bunk makes me think that the story itself may not have a deeper message， but is just an exercise in confusion and being confused。 Yet perhaps the message is the confusion: it’s meant to make us feel like not Sydney – disoriented， rootless， aimless， distracted by whatever person or idea comes along。 Such is the nonsense， the ridiculousness， the groundlessness of racial discrimination in the US。 Maybe？ 。。。more

Cori Ready ，

Brilliant fun。 I loved this and never wanted it to end。 Laugh out loud funny bits and glaring portrayal of American racism as it really is even if he writes it like a satire make this a satisfying coming of age journey wrapped in a postmodern package。

ThereWillBeBooks ，

Probably the best portrayal of Ted Turner in all of literature， among other things。 Also， Wanda Fonda makes me giggle every time。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=I Am Not Sidney Poitier

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=I Am Not Sidney Poitier&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,I Am Not Sidney Poitier&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0