We Cast a Shadow

A Novel

By: Maurice Carlos Ruffin

Narrated by: Dion Graham

“An incisive and necessary” (Roxane Gay) debut for fans of Get Out and Paul Beatty’s The Sellout, about a father’s obsessive quest to protect his son—even if it means turning him white

“Stunning and audacious . . . at once a pitch-black comedy, a chilling horror story and an endlessly perceptive novel about the possible future of race in America.”—NPR

LONGLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD, THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE, THE PEN/OPEN BOOK AWARD, AND THE PEN/FAULKNER AWARD • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND THE WASHINGTON POST

“You can be beautiful, even more beautiful than before.” This is the seductive promise of Dr. Nzinga’s clinic, where anyone can get their lips thinned, their skin bleached, and their nose narrowed. A complete demelanization will liberate you from the confines of being born in a black body—if you can afford it.

In this near-future Southern city plagued by fenced-in ghettos and police violence, more and more residents are turning to this experimental medical procedure. Like any father, our narrator just wants the best for his son, Nigel, a biracial boy whose black birthmark is getting bigger by the day. The darker Nigel becomes, the more frightened his father feels. But how far will he go to protect his son? And will he destroy his family in the process?

This electrifying, hallucinatory novel is at once a keen satire of surviving racism in America and a profoundly moving family story. At its center is a father who just wants his son to thrive in a broken world. Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s work evokes the clear vision of Ralph Ellison, the dizzying menace of Franz Kafka, and the crackling prose of Vladimir Nabokov. We Cast a Shadow fearlessly shines a light on the violence we inherit, and on the desperate things we do for the ones we love.

It was sad

Set in the southern US in the not-too-far-future, We Cast A Shadow describes a frightening society where people of color can undergo a medical procedure that turns dark skin white. Called “demelanization,” the process is expensive and painful, yet the unnamed narrator of this story is obsessed with getting a bonus at work, so he can afford to force his teenage son, Nigel, to turn his skin white.

The book is at times humorous, but overall sad. I disliked the narrator yet sympathized somewhat with his misguided love for his son.

I enjoyed the writing style and the meaningful topics of racial identity that the author explores. Parts of the book dragged for me, but as a whole I was engaged with reading it.

Recommended

Couldn’t quite get on board with the story line even though I wanted to - thanks

The narrator was awesome...

Dion Graham knocked this narration out of the park. They don't call him the "Golden Voice" for nothing. It wasn't that he necessarily nailed a feminine or old character when it came to voicing them, but the nuance with which he read even the non-speaking parts after dialogue that normally get a neutral or flat voice. It gave the story a very rich and melodic composition. The actual story was a little hectic. You couldn't really tell if it was futuristic, dystopian or ripped out of the Reconstruction Era. There were mentions of very modern music, technology and culture, but very clearly the discussion of racism and segregation made the exact timeframe murky. Which was the point, because for many families the direct prejudice and discrimination they experience could be pulled right out of pretty much any point in time in our history. This has a direct link to how the antagonist (or protagonist depending on how you view him) goes about trying to protect his son throughout the novel, including addiction to anxiety medication and experimental treatment. I don't care for books being divided into parts when there is no exceptionally distinct change of plot line or character development and this had 4 parts which I didn't think were completely necessary, but it was a pretty good read overall.

great narration

The narration is top-notch, but the story gets a bit like a fever dream towards the late middle to ending.

Got lost.

It started out strong and interesting. Then is went all over the place and seemed just as lost as the main character.