The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man [Mass Market Paperback]

James Weldon Johnson (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Pelican Mentor (NAL) (1948)
• ASIN: B000VDYS7M
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Search for American Identity, February 24, 2000

By 

D.J. Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (Paperback)

Johnson's novel travels through various African-American societies (New England, Jacksonville, New York City, the Black Belt) in a story of a mulatto caught between two opposing racial identities. The novel is an epic journey (emotionally and physically) of this African-American, who is light enough to "pass" into the white American dominating the turn-of-the century. The Ex-Coloured Man's personal struggles to reconcile his true private self with his public self in a divided and prejudiced society makes this novel an emotional and enlightening read. Johnson takes up the issue of WEB DuBois's double-consciousness, and gives it life in the form of this ambivalent protagonist.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Soul-Stirring, June 18, 1999

By 

Nadyne G. Morgan "dynethebest" (Keller, TX (for now)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (Paperback)

This is not the type of book that will grab you from the beginning and hold you until the end. This is the kind of book that when you sit down to think about it, you'll find that you are, in some instances, like the Ex-Coloured Man.

I had to read this piece for a class. Upon cracking the binding, I was not impressesd. But, as I got deeper into the story, I was captivated. This is the type of work that makes you look at your life and wonder how you would respond in the same situations (and how you had responded in the past). While Johnson didn't give you dramatic build up that writers of today give, he gave an opportuinty for individual soul exploration. I believe that was the point he was trying to make.

"Autobiography of An Ex-Coloured Man" was not the greatest work ever written, but is was one of the most thought-provoking and challenging.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Place on your list of books to read in this lifetime., September 5, 2006

By 

ALEXINE L. MARTIN "Maryland's favorite real e... (Washington DC and Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (American Century) (Paperback)

I found this book on the bottom shelf in my college bookcase. From the first chapter, I found myself on an old, winding, rollercoaster. James Weldon lived a life in early to mid-twentieth century more filled with extraordinary adventures than many men today. The matter that he did so 'passing' as Caucasian isn't just a coincidence. Character is what matters. . .as a reader should derive from his story; however, the matter of race devoured Weldon's every chance at completing each sweet piece of life-pie.

I cannot say more to those who never understood a Black man than to read...this...book!! You will be enlightened further than you can now imagine.