I Am Not Sidney Poitier

In 1968, Sidney Poitier is the one black man that middle, white America could get behind. Or at least let over for dinner. In Everett’s hilarious new satirical novel, I Am Not Sidney Poitier, a woman who shares the actor’s surname bestows her newborn son with the first name Not Sidney. Not Sidney may not benefit from a confusing name, but he does reap the windfall of his mother’s wise early investment in the burgeoning Turner empire, so much so that when she dies, Ted adopts the orphaned Not Sidney.

From there, Not Sidney’s life rollicks across some serious bumps: He’s sexually harassed by a teacher, is racially profiled by a police officer and becomes involved in an Alabama murder case. When Not Sidney accompanies his white girlfriend to meet her parents in D.C., the dinner scene begins as a replay of Poitier’s famous movie Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner but eventually breaks down when Not Sidney tires of playing the role that’s been reserved for him.

Few authors write about race in America with the same verve and sharpness as Everett. With our first black president in office, “postracial America” has become the new preferred term to make us all feel better about our entrenched and casual racism. But Everett won’t let complacency stand, and I Am Not Sidney Poitier skewers it with a sense of humor that betrays more bemusement than outrage.

Buy I Am Not Sidney Poitier on Amazon.com

• More book reviews
• More Books articles