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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