Bourgeois Blues
by Jake Lamar
(Summit Books 1991)
Bourgeois Blues has been translated into
French as Confessions d'un fils modèle
Bourgeois Blues is a stunning memoir of a gifted young middle-class black man and his struggle to succeed in white America. Born in 1961, Jake Lamar was unable to escape a heritage of racism despite being well-educated and accomplished. Here Lamar, a former associate editor for Time magazine, illuminates the ironies of integration and America's history of prejudice.
Reviews
"A knockout debut. The recollection of well-to-do African-American childhood marred by family discord is as taut as the spriest novel and as revealing as many a hefty sociological tome."
--Seattle Times
"Resonates with the time-honored search for truth."
--New York Times Book Review
"Dickensian in its power."
--Atlanta Journal Constitution
"On this subject it's a relief to read somebody who doesn't consider it their first task to make you feel at ease."
--Christopher Hitchens, Newsday