Masculinity

The concept of masculinity and its relationship with the Black community forms a cornerstone of the novel. Brian struggles to unpack his feelings of inadequacy and shame for being emotional as a result of his father’s conditioning as a child.

The narrator begins with the encounter between Tuan and Brian in order to establish a parallel between the two boys and the way the cycle of abuse and trauma establishes itself and continues. As an adult, Brian must relearn what it means to be a man separate from the violence and emotional suppression that he was taught and witnessed around him in his community. He remembers “My father’s beatings were like lightning strikes. Powerful, fast, and unpredictable. He held his anger so tightly that, when it finally overtook him, the force was bone-shaking. He punched me like I was a grown-ass man. He went blind with...