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A review by loischanel
Afropean: Notes from Black Europe by Johny Pitts
4.0
I was initially drawn to this book because it won the 2020 Jhalak Prize for BAME writers, my favourite UK literary award and the inspiration behind the BAME book recommendations series on my booktube channel.
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Through the backpacking travels of the author, from France to Russia, culminating in Portugal, Afropean seeks to explore the black identity in Europe. From the violent colonial history of the African continent by its European oppressors to the present-day, this book looks at how originally African traditions, ideas and an altogether African presence has shaped the social fabric of many European countries and the every-day black communities, struggling to thrive in countries that institutionally marginalise them.
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This book is written with an intellectualism that reads like a scholarly text. At the same time, it also conveys the romanticism of being a sole traveller backpacking through Europe, seeking the enlightenment that comes with culture shocks and chance encounters. I felt like I was traversing Europe alongside Johny Pitts as we read about the colonial past of each country he visits and how this puts the present-day and vastly widespread subjugation of black communities across the continent into context.
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Afropean was a challenging read in more ways than one. It presents a history of black people across Europe that has been largely erased and forgotten. I thought this book sorely needed paragraphs as it was hard to read constant page-length blocks of text, however stirring, but overall I couldn't fault this book. I'm glad I didn't rush it because this book is written in a deeply contemplative way that makes for slower, more meaningful reading.
-
Through the backpacking travels of the author, from France to Russia, culminating in Portugal, Afropean seeks to explore the black identity in Europe. From the violent colonial history of the African continent by its European oppressors to the present-day, this book looks at how originally African traditions, ideas and an altogether African presence has shaped the social fabric of many European countries and the every-day black communities, struggling to thrive in countries that institutionally marginalise them.
-
This book is written with an intellectualism that reads like a scholarly text. At the same time, it also conveys the romanticism of being a sole traveller backpacking through Europe, seeking the enlightenment that comes with culture shocks and chance encounters. I felt like I was traversing Europe alongside Johny Pitts as we read about the colonial past of each country he visits and how this puts the present-day and vastly widespread subjugation of black communities across the continent into context.
-
Afropean was a challenging read in more ways than one. It presents a history of black people across Europe that has been largely erased and forgotten. I thought this book sorely needed paragraphs as it was hard to read constant page-length blocks of text, however stirring, but overall I couldn't fault this book. I'm glad I didn't rush it because this book is written in a deeply contemplative way that makes for slower, more meaningful reading.