by Hilton Als
Overall Rating: 4/5
Plot: n/a
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
White Girls is a collection of essays by Hilton Als on such subjects as gender identity, representation, intersectionality, and pop culture. As such, there really is no plot to rate, but the characterization of the people he talks about and the way in which he writes are what I'm basing my rating on. I particularly enjoyed his essay on Truman Capote.
I feel like I did this book a disservice by not reading it as deeply or as carefully as it deserved. This needs to be held up with other writers of his era, like James Baldwin and Truman Capote. This is an important book and should be given the attention it deserves. I really didn't do that and I blame the manner in which I read it: there was a hold behind me, so I rushed through the essays and didn't spent much time meditating on their meaning and place in the scheme of life. This is not a light read, but it definitely one that needs to be read to be appreciated.
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