The entire time I was reading Sag Harbor, I waited for a reason for Benji’s constant
judgments. Why was I enduring such a lackluster bildungsroman? Which is what I
have to call this book, a coming of age novel, because it tries so hard to be
one. For as much as the narrator describes one summer that “changed” his life,
not much could be observed as improvement until he gets his braces off 50 pages
before the end.
Benji’s family is middle class and black. There are some
wonderful references to the accomplishments of black Americans early in the
story, “Booker T. came out to Sag Harbor once.” But much of that is forgotten
by the time Benji and his 9 month younger brother decide to stop riding their
bikes around town; the first day back in Sag Harbor Long Island.
The premise:
middle class black families with summer homes on the north shore. I could step
up to my soapbox and wax racial for a minute, but this book doesn’t really
deserve a long-winded review. It’s rambling enough. There are redeeming moments
of realization: Benji finds a note his mother wrote itemizing the shortcomings
of her husband, but these flickers of intrigue are never flushed out. It’s all
about Benji trying to figure out his identity. Maybe I don’t get it because I
don’t know who I am, or maybe I don’t get it because I’m white.
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