The Last White Man
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- Create Date：2022-08-11 08:51:44
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Mohsin Hamid
- ISBN：0593538811
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Summary
From the New York Times bestselling author of Exit West， a story of love， loss， and rediscovery in a time of unsettling change
One morning， Anders wakes to find that his skin has turned dark， his reflection a stranger to him。 At first he tells only Oona， an old friend， newly a lover。 Soon， reports of similar occurrences surface across the land。 Some see in the transformations the long-dreaded overturning of an established order， to be resisted to a bitter end。 In many， like Anders's father and Oona's mother， a sense of profound loss wars with profound love。 As the bond between Anders and Oona deepens， change takes on a different shading: a chance to see one another， face to face， anew。
Hamid's The Last White Man invites us to envision a future - our future - that dares to reimagine who we think we are， and how we might yet be together。
One morning， Anders wakes to find that his skin has turned dark， his reflection a stranger to him。 At first he tells only Oona， an old friend， newly a lover。 Soon， reports of similar occurrences surface across the land。 Some see in the transformations the long-dreaded overturning of an established order， to be resisted to a bitter end。 In many， like Anders's father and Oona's mother， a sense of profound loss wars with profound love。 As the bond between Anders and Oona deepens， change takes on a different shading: a chance to see one another， face to face， anew。
Hamid's The Last White Man invites us to envision a future - our future - that dares to reimagine who we think we are， and how we might yet be together。
Reviews
Tom Scott
，
In the morning， people wake up and find they’ve changed， once white， they’re now dark。 It's also about other changes， about family， about society， and loss， and about how you can’t go back， to before these changes， and the loss you feel， and the stupefying sadness， about these changes， and how other people react to the changes， and you’re no longer what you were， the changes have changed you， though sometimes this works out for the better。 Indirectly too， beyond race and behind a scrim of poetic In the morning， people wake up and find they’ve changed， once white， they’re now dark。 It's also about other changes， about family， about society， and loss， and about how you can’t go back， to before these changes， and the loss you feel， and the stupefying sadness， about these changes， and how other people react to the changes， and you’re no longer what you were， the changes have changed you， though sometimes this works out for the better。 Indirectly too， beyond race and behind a scrim of poetic language， it’s a pandemic novel， a social media critique， an alt- middle-right takedown， an insurrection call out， as if society is frailer than we hope， and count on。I'm fortunate， I saw the author speak in San Francisco， it was on the night of the book's publication， and I had the book signed， and told him I read Exit West， which in hindsight was a banal thing to say， when I really wanted to thank him， for being an author， since I like to read， and think books are important。The device， using commas to propel thought， it’s poetic and effective， a real treat， if done well， which this review is not。 。。。more
Dustin Bagby
，
I was excited when I heard Hamid had a novel coming out this year。 I loved his previous work Exit West。 This however， was a short and rather disappointing read。 The premise is a great one; unexpectedly and inexplicably white people are starting to turn dark and it unleashes fear and a self-protection instinct from the remaining white people， at least until there are no white people left。 From there， not much really happens other than LONG melodramatic run-on sentences。 And then it's over。 I was excited when I heard Hamid had a novel coming out this year。 I loved his previous work Exit West。 This however， was a short and rather disappointing read。 The premise is a great one; unexpectedly and inexplicably white people are starting to turn dark and it unleashes fear and a self-protection instinct from the remaining white people， at least until there are no white people left。 From there， not much really happens other than LONG melodramatic run-on sentences。 And then it's over。 。。。more
Diana Lupu
，
3，5*A short novel of very long， Saramago-like sentences （but with more punctuation）。 A very interesting premise （people changing race）， but， unfortunately， Anders is not a very thoughtful guy， so he doesn't have any deep thoughts about racism， and we only see glimpses of what the mysterious darkening means to the wide society - besides， we never find out how Black people feel about all those people who lost their whiteness。 The happy ending seems far-fetched， but maybe that says more about me （o 3，5*A short novel of very long， Saramago-like sentences （but with more punctuation）。 A very interesting premise （people changing race）， but， unfortunately， Anders is not a very thoughtful guy， so he doesn't have any deep thoughts about racism， and we only see glimpses of what the mysterious darkening means to the wide society - besides， we never find out how Black people feel about all those people who lost their whiteness。 The happy ending seems far-fetched， but maybe that says more about me （or about our own society） than about the book itself。 。。。more
Kiran Bhat
，
What a fun book！ Hamid has created a Kafkaesque situation in which a white man suddenly turns brown。 The language is self-aware， comic， and deeply political。 Hamid is narrating the fallacies of race and representation but doing it with the sort of gravitas that a modernist of the 1900s would。 Truly a gem of a book。 Hamid is slowly becoming one of my favorite popular authors。
shhhh， I am reading
，
This novel turns the world upside down and inside out and yet somehow lands with such gentleness and sweet hope。 I like to read a book blind—not reading any reviews， not even the blurbs on the cover—and I’d advise the same。 I read it in one sitting， fully invested and lost in the waterfalls of barely paused commas。 I loved this book and will never forget it。
Allen
，
Unoriginal and racist。 Highly disappointing。
Al
，
I’ve enjoyed some of the author’s other books， but this one left me a little cold。 It’s not that it’s bad。 It has an interesting premise: the skin of white people suddenly starts turning dark。 As mesmerizing as some of the prose could be （Mohsin Hamid is a master of the paragraph-length sentence）， the story just doesn’t live up to the promise of the premise。
Caitlin Sibthorpe
，
I picked up this book because Hamid’s Exit West is one of my favourite books I’ve read， and I was eager to read something from Hamid again。 The thing I love so much about these two books is how Hamid introduces such enormous conversations by adding some fantastical element to our normal world。This book follows two characters， Anders and Oona， and their respective parents， as their skin and those around them becomes darker。 I admire how Hamid’s characters come across as entirely honest， whether w I picked up this book because Hamid’s Exit West is one of my favourite books I’ve read， and I was eager to read something from Hamid again。 The thing I love so much about these two books is how Hamid introduces such enormous conversations by adding some fantastical element to our normal world。This book follows two characters， Anders and Oona， and their respective parents， as their skin and those around them becomes darker。 I admire how Hamid’s characters come across as entirely honest， whether what they think is right or not， allowing us readers to exams their own prejudices and compare them with our own。The writing style in this book is also worth examining。 At first， the sentences are structured regularly。 But， shortly into the novel， the sentences grow very long， and each paragraph is a single sentence。 This results in a quick read filled with stream of consciousness， quick changes， and captivating details throughout。Overall， this was an ambitious book。 It introduces many themes and does not offer closure on any of them， but does open the door for a multitude of discussions worth having。 。。。more
Lisa
，
The premise of this novel is brilliant。 It offered no doubt that race is a social construct and perceptions of oneself and others are going to be influenced by skin color。 Posture， relationships， and sense of safety and security all are based on skin color of the minority vs majority of the population。 I wanted more nuance than this very short novel （borderline novella） offered， though。 It felt a little rushed， as though another 100 pages could have given more depth and meaning to why people fel The premise of this novel is brilliant。 It offered no doubt that race is a social construct and perceptions of oneself and others are going to be influenced by skin color。 Posture， relationships， and sense of safety and security all are based on skin color of the minority vs majority of the population。 I wanted more nuance than this very short novel （borderline novella） offered， though。 It felt a little rushed， as though another 100 pages could have given more depth and meaning to why people felt the way they did as white skin transitioned to dark skin throughout the community。 People who transitioned early were ostracized yet dark skin became accepted as it became the majority。 People loved their family and friends except they were now dark skinned。 People lost their identities once they became dark skinned。 But the author never dug into these emotions and social constructs。 He just reported them。 It also seemed a little lazy in setting this unidentified place and time into what could only have been USA in 2020。 The middle-aged depressive woman fell into conspiracy theories as she stayed home and went online all day until she became afraid of everything outside her home。 I liked the idea of this novel but it didn’t meet its potential。 。。。more
Agelb
，
3。5 - I enjoyed reading this。 I like the writing style but something in the story/ending felt lacking。
Eva Radukic
，
such a fluid style of prose， he brilliantly tackles the core social issues in a unique and creative way
Isabell Liu
，
Biting yet subtle， the true mark of a poignant satire。
Shannon Potter-knight
，
This concept of this book is unique。 I don’t remember reading anything like it。
KN
，
On the plus side: it's short。 It reads like a stream of consciousness。 It is not clear why it was written or why it was published。 I may read Exit West to see why his work is being published。 The book was not clever; it lacked analysis; it's just under 200 pages that you will never get back。 On the plus side: it's short。 It reads like a stream of consciousness。 It is not clear why it was written or why it was published。 I may read Exit West to see why his work is being published。 The book was not clever; it lacked analysis; it's just under 200 pages that you will never get back。 。。。more
Joel
，
One of my favorite authors， he's done it again。 Tone， lyricism， and social commentary without being preachy， I could not put it down。 One of my favorite authors， he's done it again。 Tone， lyricism， and social commentary without being preachy， I could not put it down。 。。。more
Judy
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One of the most provocative and thought provoking novels I have ever read。 Brief and extremely well-written。 Would make for great discussions on many levels。
Leslie P。
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Very interesting premise that will make you think。
GONZA
，
A very dry book， whose story seems easy to imagine from the beginning， but takes strange turns that you don't expect instead。 It certainly provides a lot of food for thought， but you can also just read it for the love story told between the metaphors， if you don't want to try so hard。Un libro molto asciutto， la cui storia sembra facilmente immaginabile dall'inizio， ma prende strane strade che invece non ci si aspetta。 Sicuramente fornisce parecchi spunti di riflessione， ma si puó anche semplicem A very dry book， whose story seems easy to imagine from the beginning， but takes strange turns that you don't expect instead。 It certainly provides a lot of food for thought， but you can also just read it for the love story told between the metaphors， if you don't want to try so hard。Un libro molto asciutto， la cui storia sembra facilmente immaginabile dall'inizio， ma prende strane strade che invece non ci si aspetta。 Sicuramente fornisce parecchi spunti di riflessione， ma si puó anche semplicemente leggere per la storia d'amore raccontata tra le metafore， se non si ha voglia di impegnarsi tanto。I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review。 。。。more
Umar Hashmi
，
DISCLAIMER: I don't like Mohsin Hamid's writing。 I've read all of his novels now and I liked （not very much） only two。 He tries too hard to be profound in an understated way and what he achieves is just sophomoric cringe。 This is a mostly negative review。 It contains spoilers。The Last White Man， a title as every bit as hairless and trite as a certain writer， calls to mind the 2019 film The Last Black Man in San Francisco， a taut drama about friendship and the vagaries of modern life in cities fr DISCLAIMER: I don't like Mohsin Hamid's writing。 I've read all of his novels now and I liked （not very much） only two。 He tries too hard to be profound in an understated way and what he achieves is just sophomoric cringe。 This is a mostly negative review。 It contains spoilers。The Last White Man， a title as every bit as hairless and trite as a certain writer， calls to mind the 2019 film The Last Black Man in San Francisco， a taut drama about friendship and the vagaries of modern life in cities from the perspective of black people。 The novel， now that I think about it， isn't that far off from the plot I've just described。 Young people do young people things， some commentary about racism， an attempt at profundity， the particularity of the Other's experience， and other banalities rendered in outstandingly mediocre prose。The novel begins promisingly enough， with an opening lifted straight out of The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka — the protagonist Anders， a white male， has awoken to find himself utterly brown-skinned。 He observes himself in the mirror and at last looks at "his penis， unremarkable in size and in heft， unremarkable except in not being his， and therefore bizarre， beyond acceptance， like a sea creature that should not exist。"{pg 9} Not only is the prose， like the penis he describes， not worthy of existence， it is also just unremarkable and without heft， a vacuous， weird shell。The story trudges on in an almost linear fashion， with occasional reminiscences transporting the characters to certain pivotal moments in their life。 Oona， the main female character， recalls how her father and brother passed away， how that loss has stayed with her; Anders remembers his mother and his former whiteness。 There's a lot about loss in here， such as the loss of white privilege， people one has loved， memory， heritage， etc。 （and the loss of my brain cells as I read this book。） Is the idea of profound loss written about in a new way？ No。 The usual nuances， the garden variety think-pieces of every other writer have been regurgitated in words such as "he [sic] looked for the whiteness there， for it must be somewhere， maybe in his expression， but he could not see it， and the more he looked the less white he seemed， as though looking for his whiteness was the opposite of whiteness， was driving it further away， making him seem desperate， or uncertain， or like he did not belong， he who had been born here， damn it…"{pg 10} And doesn't that feel just terribly boring？ A brown man writing about a white man who's suddenly turned into a brown man can be very interesting。。。but here it surely isn't。 I've read all of this before， in better prose and better choice of style。 There are 11 commas in 68 words， and this is not an absurd Judith Butler type social science paper。 This is “fiction，” supposedly。 This is what happens when the subtext becomes the text itself， when “fiction” is nothing more than commentary on world events。 This is “fiction” written for Western literary acclaim， not to articulate anything meaningful。The plot is simple enough， but also too simple to carry the weight of Mohsin Hamid’s （not successful） attempt at speculating what it means to lose one’s whiteness。 The main characters Anders and Oona both turn brown， are misidentified， treated differently by even trusted family members， and all of that happens without pomp or drama。 Things happen and Mohsin Hamid is there to describe them in long， labyrinthine sentences written without flair or wit （“They had to eat， which took them out， and as they ate， they drank…”{pg 22}） Towards the end， the last white man dies （he didn’t turn brown） and everyone else is there to mourn him and what his white skin represented。Despite all this， Mohsin Hamid can still write beautiful sentences， just not when and where he should have。 （I have reproduced them in full in the APPENDIX section at the end of this review。） They appear， as few as they are， too late to do anything。 I too feel a certain loss right now， the loss of the potential this novel had: I could have seen some really experimental stuff such as the headlines liberal news media outlets would have come up with in response to everybody turning brown; people staying awake for days just so they could see the moment of their transformation; the creation of cults and all out decadence and dystopia， a quest to search for the last white man， the emergence of myth。 But all I got was sentences such as “she herself was still Oona but not still Oona…”This is the last Mohsin Hamid novel I’ll read in a while， and that is vaguely comforting。4/10___________________________________APPENDIX:“Behind Oona’s house the moon was visible， a little less than full， a pregnant belly moon， that was what her father used to call it， and stars were scattered across the sky， and Jupiter was there， bright， and Saturn， not quite so much， and she followed their arc， looking for Mars， but there were trees in the way， and Mars was nowhere to be seen， and not seeing Mars made her think of how frigid space was， how inhuman， a lifeless void， dead， like her father， and like her brother who had followed him…”{pg 24}“They listened to music and smoked a joint， Anders on the sofa， Oona on the floor， the distance and difference in elevation precluding unconscious touching， so they touched only when passing， fingers grazing fingers…” {pg 29}“Anders looked at her， at his daughter， and could not see her averted face， only her hair， her ear， the edges of her cheekbone and of her jaw， but also he could see her so completely， in his mind’s eye， her expression， and just then he imagined her old， without wanting to， he imagined her an old woman， after he and Oona had gone， and he felt it hitting him， this image of his daughter many years hence， and he placed his brown hand on the side of her brown face， soothing her， his brown daughter， his daughter， and miraculously she let him。”{pg 100}PS: I read the Kindle edition。 Page numbers may vary。 。。。more
Lauren Rochester
，
“Something can be both predictable and shocking when it happens”✮ ✮ ✮ ✮I really liked this book， it was thought provoking， and was the type of book that makes you want to have extremely important conversations about race。 This book anticipates the day we finally see each other for whom we really are， and the idea of racial hierarchies dissipate。 It’s a story of hope for the future that explores prejudices。 It must have been an extremely difficult book to write considering the age we live in， and “Something can be both predictable and shocking when it happens”✮ ✮ ✮ ✮I really liked this book， it was thought provoking， and was the type of book that makes you want to have extremely important conversations about race。 This book anticipates the day we finally see each other for whom we really are， and the idea of racial hierarchies dissipate。 It’s a story of hope for the future that explores prejudices。 It must have been an extremely difficult book to write considering the age we live in， and due to this I don’t believe Mohsin Hamid took it far enough， it was almost too idealistic。 Although he made the idea of those conversations want to happen， he didn’t accomplish exactly what he was after， which truly is a shame。 The only reason I have marked this a four star and not a five is the writing style。 Each paragraph is constructed in one long， flowing sentence， which I found hard to focus on。 But， it doesn’t distract from this incredibly important piece of literature。 。。。more
ANN DIPIETRO
，
Wonderful startling book on racism
Zina
，
Sure。 This is what hate against a certain race looks like。 You think this is acceptable？
Bob Lopez
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Hm。 I have mixed feelings about it。 The premise is， while not new， a fun one to explore。 But for much of the novel， it felt really unexplored。 Anders changed and then hid out。 When he was confronted by some white men at his home， after the incident， he fled to his father's house where he hid and was never disturbed until， finally， basically everyone had changed。 There were some thoughts about it here and there， reports of some incidents at a microlevel， but everything was discussed at a vague re Hm。 I have mixed feelings about it。 The premise is， while not new， a fun one to explore。 But for much of the novel， it felt really unexplored。 Anders changed and then hid out。 When he was confronted by some white men at his home， after the incident， he fled to his father's house where he hid and was never disturbed until， finally， basically everyone had changed。 There were some thoughts about it here and there， reports of some incidents at a microlevel， but everything was discussed at a vague remove， "there were riots and unrest" type of info。 The book really focused。。。no， not focused， zeroed in but remained blurry。。。on three relationships: Anders and his father， Oona and her mother， and then Anders and Oona。 We don't get too much about the parents tho， we are told they struggle with the new ways， Oona's mom more than Anders's dad who comes to a grudging， silent acceptance。 The most substantive part of the book was Anders's relationship with Oona and even that， it had the feel of a breezy， cliff's notes version of their life together。 Months pass， years pass in a sentence or two。 My favorite section was the end section， and Anders and Oona's daughter。 Otherwise， a disappointing outing。 。。。more
Cindy
，
Really interesting premise， but not explored in the ways I would have wished， and the run-on sentence-fragment writing style became tiresome。 Still， the musings of the main characters were touching and thoughtful。
Dannie Lynn Fountain
，
I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time to come。 I’m not sure yet what the central message was and the writing style was new to me too， but I could also see this book becoming a cultural pillar。
Maureen Grigsby
，
Interesting story， great writing， but I felt like it drifted in a way that was unsatisfying to me。
Jennyh
，
Anders wakes up to find that his pale skin has turned dark overnight。。 He views himself differently， he percieves that others view him differently， his view of the world is different。。As the ripples widen， more people find their skin changing colour and they have differing levels of acceptance。I have read books by this author before and found them， as with this one， thought provoking with many different facets to discuss。Although only short， this is a novel to return to time and time again。
Safaa Nasser
，
I enjoyed reading this short， but intense and deeply moving novel。 It examines issues of race， tolerance， otherness， and acceptance。 The story poses the question: what if you wake up to find your color， and race have changed？？ It continues to trace the effect of this transformation on the person and the community。 Not only is the person treated differently， his own perspective and dealings will change。 The book delves deep into important questions of identity and racism。 At the end， most readers I enjoyed reading this short， but intense and deeply moving novel。 It examines issues of race， tolerance， otherness， and acceptance。 The story poses the question: what if you wake up to find your color， and race have changed？？ It continues to trace the effect of this transformation on the person and the community。 Not only is the person treated differently， his own perspective and dealings will change。 The book delves deep into important questions of identity and racism。 At the end， most readers will not help but wonder: what if this happened to me？كان لازم أضيف نقطة طريفة: الرواية دي ذكرتني بالفيلم الكوميدي: بنات العم" بس طبعا التناول هنا جاد。 بس الفكرة قريبة و متشلبهة！ 。。。more
Rick
，
Hated it， but…Hated it but devoured it ravenously， propelled by the authors sparse use of periods as well as by his remarkable images of human feelings， yet repelled by two topics repugnant to a white septuagenerian， race and death， both of which are jarring to a slipping mind， even though real and compelling and apparently inevitable， and because racism must end since there is no point in it yet it rages on， trying to make me feel a guilt I neither feel nor deserve， all the while creating miser Hated it， but…Hated it but devoured it ravenously， propelled by the authors sparse use of periods as well as by his remarkable images of human feelings， yet repelled by two topics repugnant to a white septuagenerian， race and death， both of which are jarring to a slipping mind， even though real and compelling and apparently inevitable， and because racism must end since there is no point in it yet it rages on， trying to make me feel a guilt I neither feel nor deserve， all the while creating misery and injustice which I hate and will probably only escape by passing， yet life will in fact go on， and racism will somehow end， and people will still be people， propelled forward by feelings and interdependence amidst relentless change。 。。。more
Kate Vane
，
I really enjoyed Hamid's Exit West and I loved the premise of this but I couldn't get interested in the story。 The style reminded me of Saramago's Blindness - the sense of detachment， the lack of specifics about time and place - but in Blindness that somehow increased the sense of isolation and horror。 Here it left me cold - perhaps because Anders and Oona just aren't that interesting。 I also wasn't sure about the ending （don't want to say more）。 *I received a copy from the publisher via Netgall I really enjoyed Hamid's Exit West and I loved the premise of this but I couldn't get interested in the story。 The style reminded me of Saramago's Blindness - the sense of detachment， the lack of specifics about time and place - but in Blindness that somehow increased the sense of isolation and horror。 Here it left me cold - perhaps because Anders and Oona just aren't that interesting。 I also wasn't sure about the ending （don't want to say more）。 *I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Last White Man
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Last White Man&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Last White Man&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0