This was a book club selection. We were searching for a funny/happy book to read. For me this wasn't it. I didn't find the book humorous or engaging. I did finish it but reading it felt more like a chore. I found the story disjointed and non-sensical. The main character was not likable or even well developed. Perhaps this book is too cerebral for me. Someone in book club pointed out that Not Sidney's adventures were similar to plots in Sidney Poitier movies... perhaps reading the book through that filter might have made it more interesting. It's unfortunate that a lot of people read this book thinking it’s going to be a "funny" book. It's not. It's satire. A biting satire on race that could make many a reader squirm. Yes, there is a running joke on “I am not Sidney Poitier and I am Not Sidney Poitier” and you groan every time you see it coming. But even that joke made a statement on individuality and race. Percival Everett, born in 1956, undoubtedly remembers Sidney Poitier’s movies being beamed into white America’s living rooms in the 1960s and that Poitier was much loved. In the 1960s and sadly for years afterward, it was not uncommon to hear, as one of the characters in the book says – you can’t tell one black from another, they all look alike. Not Sidney Poitier is not a character he is a symbol of racist white America’s perception of blacks, especially in context of the era of Poitier’s award-winning work. Literally, people who meet Not Sidney are unable to learn or misunderstand his name, but metaphorically they are unable to understand what he symbolizes. Like the real Sidney Poitier to some characters this was a black person with money, to others a black person who was well-educated. His mother invested in Ted Turner’s media company before it became successful and when she died, Not Sidney was rich and became Turner’s ward. Turner, of course, symbolizes the media’s attitude toward the real Sidney Poitier. Turner doesn’t know what to do with Not Sidney. He likes Not Sidney, but he doesn’t relate to him. He provides for him, but doesn’t live with him. But Turner is loyal, after all Not Sidney has money. Elements of Poitier’s movies are splattered everywhere in these pages. I do think being familiar with Poitier’s movies helps the reader enjoy the book. Otherwise, you’re left with an episodic book that doesn’t make sense. On the surface this looks like a light read, but in actuality this is a complex book that is worthy of serious discussion. Great book for the right readers.
What do You think about Non Sono Sidney Poitier (2009)?
The more I think about this book, the less I like it. Intellectually incoherent & snide to boot.
—juliennemontalvo
Everett never disappoints, this book was comical and entertaining. Highly recommend it.
—chevy
An excellent novel squeezed between a mediocre beginning and end.
—joyce
