Caucasia

Pitch-perfect period details and a superbly empathic protagonist -- upon whose body racial dissonance is literally played out -- form the backdrop to this sophisticated and compelling debut novel. Birdy and Cole are the daughters of a black father and a white mother, intellectuals and activists in the civil rights movement in 1970s Boston. The sisters are so close that they have created a private language, yet to the outside world, they can't be sisters: Birdie appears to be white, while Cole is dark enough to fit in with the other kids at the Afrocentric school they attend. But then their parents' marriage falls apart, the girls are separated, and Birdie and her mother must assume a new and perplexing identity. Inspired by Senna's own life, Caucasia raises questions of biracialism that contribute to the poignancy, realistic complexity, and nuance intrinsic to the novel.The New York Times Book Review - Elizabeth Schmidt

Superbly illustrates the emotional toll that politics and race take on one especially gutsy young girl's development.More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography

Danzy Senna is the author of the novels Caucasia and Symptomatic.More About the AuthorCustomer ReviewsReader Rating: Ratings: 25Reviews: 23See All ReviewsCaucasiaby Anonymous

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August 20, 2008: Really deep and intellectually stimulating book. Not as heavy and tough to read as I thought it would be-- it definitely captured my attention. It brings up interesting issues about race and identity and mindsets that existed years back, although I don't know how accurate they are.Caucasiaby Anonymous

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June 24, 2008: This was a strikingly, beautifully written novel.I loved the way birdie and cole still stayed in contact with each other, or at least tried to.