#95: Caucasia by Danzy Senna
Details
Our September book selection is Caucasia by Danzy Senna. First published in 1998, it is a modern classic about sisterhood and biracial identity set against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1970s.
About the book: Birdie and Cole are the daughters of a black father and a white mother, intellectuals and activists in the Civil Rights Movement in 1970s Boston. The sisters are so close that they speak their own language, yet Birdie, with her light skin and straight hair, is often mistaken for white, while Cole is dark enough to fit in with the other kids at school. Despite their differences, Cole is Birdie’s confidant, her protector, the mirror by which she understands herself. Then their parents’ marriage collapses. One night Birdie watches her father and his new girlfriend drive away with Cole. Soon Birdie and her mother are on the road as well, drifting across the country in search of a new home. But for Birdie, home will always be Cole. Haunted by the loss of her sister, she sets out a desperate search for the family that left her behind.
A modern classic, Caucasia is at once a powerful coming of age story and a groundbreaking work on identity and race in America.
Book discussion location: Call & Response Books will host us at their beautiful storefront in Hyde Park. Be sure to support Chicago's newest Black-woman-owned bookstore by purchasing your book in person or online.
Also by Danzy Senna:
#95: Caucasia by Danzy Senna