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Passing for Black [Paperback]

Linda Villarosa (Author)
2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)


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Paperback, May 27, 2008 --  

Book Description

May 27, 2008
Being black, the right kind of black, was difficult. It was like being in a cult--a secret society with rules as fluid as waves...

In the six years that Angela Wright has been with her fiancé Keith Redfield, her life has settled neatly into place. Keith, a professor of African-American history, has helped her become comfortable in her own skin. And Angela's career at Désire magazine is thriving. She's got nothing to worry about--or so she thinks...

Angela's best friend Mae is always there to ground her, whether they're joking about the importance of good hair or gossiping about their rival Tatiana Braithwaite--a milk chocolate Barbie with beauty, breeding, and an irritating knack for perfection. Mae reminds Angela how lucky she is to have found a successful, single brother. But when a chance meeting leaves Angela consumed with desire for an intriguing stranger, she impulsively decides to follow wherever it may lead--from outrageous underground sex parties to intimate encounters that are both torrid and tender.

Now everything Angela has come to believe about sex, love, identity, and race is called into question as this explosive new passion blows her world wide open...

"Passing for Black is Kissing Jessica Stein meets Good Hair. The characters are outrageous and real and heartfelt. Linda Villarosa has written an important, entertaining debut. Brava!" --Benilde Little, author of Who Does She Think She Is?

"Passing for Black weaves issues of identity and sexuality into an engaging tale of love, passion and family. Finally the story we've been waiting for, delivered in page turning, finely written prose by one of my favorite writers." --E. Lynn Harris, New York Times bestselling author

"Passing for Black is a lively page turner that follows the complicated process of coming out as African-American and female and middle-class. It is a sweet, romantic, and sometimes funny tale, brushed nicely with issues of race, class and sexuality. As Angela tumbles along her journey to self discovery, I found myself rooting for her to find the way." --Staceyann Chin



Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Linda Villarosa is a freelance writer and editor. She is a former editor of both the New York Times and Essence Magazine, where she wrote a number of award-winning articles. The author of Body & Soul: The Black Women's Guide to Physical Health and Emotional Well-Being, a Blackboard Bestseller, Linda has also written several other books. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her partner and two children. Passing For Black is her first novel.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Dafina (May 27, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0758223870
  • ISBN-13: 978-0758223876
  • Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,391,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.8 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Whose To Say?, July 20, 2008
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Passing for Black (Paperback)
Passing for Black by Linda Villarosa gives us a clear view of how confusing it can be for an African-American, trying to be a `Real Black,' whatever that means, and struggling with her sexuality at the same time. Angela Wright, a journalist is not sure who she is, sometimes feels she is not the right kind of black and other times feels she does not know how she identifies. She has chosen journalism because her mother, Janet, is a very successful reporter. Angela is engaged to successful professor, Dr. Keith Redfield, because he is a good man, and the right man for her, according to everyone, but her. As much as Angela has she feels out of sorts and is lacking something in her life. Secretly, she feels her longing for female love might be the problem. However, she has tamped those feelings for years, because she knows it is the right thing to do. Or is it? When she meets one of Keith's colleagues, Professor Cait Getty, she is immediately attracted and cannot get the woman out of her mind.

Angela finds a way to talk to Cait, she goes on an undercover assignment to a lesbian convention and immediately she and Cait connect. Once Cait discovers Angela is a journalist, she is angered by her duplicity and decides not to see her. Of course, Angela pursues her and a tryst unfolds. Immediately, the reader is pulled into the complications surrounding this love affair, including Keith's discovery and how Angela's parents feel about her choices.

Ms. Villarosa wrote a provocative, sometimes funny and very human account of a woman's sexual identity unveiling. The only stumbling block for me was Keith's one dimensional, almost stereotypical, bumbling maleness. I would have loved for him to be more dynamic, thus proving Angela's desires were more due to natural desires than to his inadequacies. Having said this, I truly enjoyed Passing for Black and recommend it to all readers who enjoy a well-written novel that will make them think.

Angelia Menchan
APOOO BookClub
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A Triple Minority, July 22, 2008
By 
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Passing for Black (Paperback)
Angela Wright, the daughter of a doctor and television newscaster, is a successful journalist for Desire` magazine. She is engaged to Keith Redfield, a professor of African Studies, with whom she has been in a relationship for six years. She never felt comfortable in her skin because she was always teased about not being "black" enough. She is also uncomfortable with her feelings for other women, which she has suppressed for years. But meeting Cait, a white lesbian, invokes feelings in Angela so strong she can't ignore them. Her obsession with Cait leads her down a path she is not sure she wants to take.

PASSING FOR BLACK carries a two-fold message of being black in a racist society and being gay in a heterosexual world. It is hard to fathom what is more profound in the novel: racial intolerance or discrimination due to sexual preference. Just as there is discrimination within the race, there is also intolerance within the gay community against other gays. Angela's struggles with her sexuality is no different than the tale of others. Her character came off as rather selfish at times, which didn't allow me to empathize with her, nor agree with her decisions. It also took some time for me to get into the rhythm of the book. Although Villarosa is an established author, this is her first novel.

Reviewed by Paula Henderson
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Fast paced, funny, serious, December 28, 2008
This review is from: Passing for Black (Paperback)
First novel by Linda Villarosa. Quick read that was refreshingly different from usual lesfic novels, mostly in a good way.

I came across it because it was mentioned/reviewed by afterellen.com. And seriously? You can't guess the lesbian content from the blurb or the cover. I'm all for lesbian authors/novels being published by non-queer publishing houses, but how on earth am I supposed to find them when they don't tell me that that is what's in the book. But that's another story.

The novel is the story of Angela, writer for a hip magazine in her 20s, who falls in love with Cait, her fiancee's nemesis at the university at which they are both professors. It is, in its core, a coming out story, but so much more. Angela is looking for her place in the world and doesn't seem to be able to be herself or express her opinions to those who are closest to her.

The title "Passing for Black" alludes to Angela's dilemma that she doesn't feel black enough, feels like she's pretending to be someone she's not. Breaking out of her pattern of trying to please everyone around her sends her on a journey of self-discovery and also discovering that everyone harbors prejudice.

I enjoyed reading this book, it's fast paced and funny, even though at its core it's a serious book.

One drawback is that the characters at times felt stereotypical, clearly designed to fulfill a function.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
sex conference
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Linda Villarosa, Mizz Nona, Too Strong, New York, Barry White, Too Black, Hard Tyme, New Amsterdam, Thank God, Janet Wright, Rainbow House, Rufus Browne, Tatiana Braithwaite, African Diaspora Society, Mama Wright
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