The Last White Man – Mohsin Hamid

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Chosen by Suzy

Anders, a white man living in a fictional town, wakes one morning to discover his skin has turned brown. Confused and ashamed, he experiences change in the attitudes of the people in his family and community. Yet he is only the first to transition. A magical realist novel about racism, isolation, loss and new beginnings.

… and the more he looked, the less white he seemed, as though looking for his whiteness was the opposite of whiteness, was driving it further away, making him seem desperate …

● I enjoyed the premise of The Last White Man. Mohsin Hamid has written in a way that feels like what’s happening to Anders is actually pretty plausible rather than absolutely impossible. The rolling sentences at times lead the reader relentlessly forward, however there was also something about the writing that made me feel like I was being kept at arm’s length. Not my favourite novel of Hamid’s but still an enjoyable read. – Suzy

● The Last White Man is a reminder of how bias continues to reign in society and what its flow on effects are. There is the obvious racism theme, but the book also reminded me of the pandemic, where people were terrified about what afflicted others and feared any social contact. There is a steady pace to the book and long, propulsive sentences, but it is not climatic. I was not disappointed by this as I felt the styling was reminiscent of The Metamorphosis, which obviously provided some inspiration for this book. – Rachel

● The first line of the book had me captivated: ‘One day Anders, a white man, woke up to find he had turned a deep and undeniable brown’. Unfortunately, as the novel progressed it didn’t really pack much punch and I’m not sure I got the key take away from the book. I feel Hamid had great intent but it was lacking in depth for me. In saying that it was certainly thought provoking and puts to the reader questions about the acceptable treatment of one other. – Jodie

● The Last White Man was a strangely subdued story with no real peak – I kept expecting one but it never came. This perhaps gave me an overall sense of being underwhelmed. In saying that I did enjoy aspects of the book, especially its themes around racism. The long sentences had me rushing along at a frantic pace and I thought this was a clever way of creating tension. – Jo

Published 2022
Riverhead Books
192 pages