The Last White Man

A Novel

By: Mohsin Hamid

Narrated by: Mohsin Hamid

Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

A NEW YORKER “ESSENTIAL READ”

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER, VOGUE, AND NPR

“Perhaps Hamid’s most remarkable work yet … an extraordinary vision of human possibility.”–Ayad Akhtar, author of Homeland Elegies

“Searing, exhilarating … reimagines Kafka’s iconic The Metamorphosis for our racially charged era.” Hamilton Cain, Oprah Daily

From the New York Times-bestselling author of Exit West, a story of love, loss, and rediscovery in a time of unsettling change.

One morning, a man wakes up to find himself transformed. Overnight, Anders’s skin has turned dark, and the reflection in the mirror seems a stranger to him. At first he shares his secret only with Oona, an old friend turned new lover. Soon, reports of similar events begin to surface. Across the land, people are awakening in new incarnations, uncertain how their neighbors, friends, and family will greet them. Some see the transformations as the long-dreaded overturning of the established order that must be resisted to a bitter end. In many, like Anders’s father and Oona’s mother, a sense of profound loss and unease wars with profound love. As the bond between Anders and Oona deepens, change takes on a different shading: a chance at a kind of rebirth—an opportunity to see ourselves, face to face, anew.

In Mohsin Hamid’s “lyrical and urgent” prose (O Magazine), The Last White Man powerfully uplifts our capacity for empathy and the transcendence over bigotry, fear, and anger it can achieve.

©2022 Mohsin Hamid (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“A fantastical exploration of race and privilege. . . . In an age aflame with strident tweets, Hamid offers swelling remorse and expansive empathy. Such a story could only be written by an author who is entirely candid about his awkward journey along the racial spectrum. . . . It anticipates that sweet day—not forever deferred, surely—when we finally close the casket on the whole horrific construct of racial hierarchies and see each other for what we are.”—The Washington Post

“Fantastical treatments of race have long served to underscore just how absurd it is that this social construct should wield so much power. Hamid’s novel follows in this legacy, challenging readers to consider the ways in which something as superficial as the color of one’s skin holds sway in their lives.”—TIME

“A moral fable for our entire harrowing world. . . . exquisitely evoked by Hamid in a mesmerizing, serpentine style. . . .The Last White Man offers its own small ray of light.”—Los Angeles Times

Best difficult read. And

If you must live in a world that tells you who you’re supposed to be and then changes it suddenly well….

this seems pretty cool

<h1>My First Heading</h1>

<p>My first paragraph.</p>

this s going to be <em> EMPHASIZED</em>


<h2>An Unordered HTML List</h2>

<ul>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ul>

<h2>An Ordered HTML List</h2>

<ol>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>

The narrator was monotone.

Interesting story About the prejudices of skin color. And family dynamics of skin color change.

Don't let the title fool you!

I liked the twist that put on this story, a very subtle way to deal with the issue of race and racism. I don't want to blow it, but all I can say is, the last White is not the last White man!

great idea, not well done

I loved the idea of this story. I also thought the writing was great but it was missing so much. the characters had amazing feelings expressed but it was a rushed story and it was incomplete. there was so much potential. I was disappointed in how abruptly it ended.

Who and what are we?

Intelligent, deeply thoughtful and thought provoking , a breath of fresh air. Stream of consciousness narration creates tension.

Not about racism

The book reminded me of Kafka’s Metamorphosis. It opens with the same rhythm of a man experiencing a frightening transition. Just as Kafka’s book was not about insects, I didn’t think this book was very much about racism. It was about identity.

One sweeping idea but not much else

It seems to me that Mohsin has discovered the formula to international stardom. Start with a big idea mined from the headlines and pepper the text with some creative and lovely psychological insights and portrayals, but leave behind everything else: characters, plot, nuances, etc. Make sure it is a short book and get celebrity endorsements a plenty. Filthy Rich was at least original and invested in its main characters. Exit West is best left alone. This is somewhere in between. Certainly worth reading but Mohsin’s obsession with ‘the formula’ makes it a diminished book.

Interesting

Very believable characters . I liked the growth in the main characters, it was realistic.
If this happened in real life the outcome would be way worse

Disappointing.

I purchased The Last White Man based on a review on NPR which made it sound intriguing and thoughtful. This book was neither. Interesting premise that is wholly unexplored. For a book whose entire plot hinges on changes in a person’s appearance, the author tells us remarkably little about those changes. Skin gets darker, ok—but does hair texture change? eye color? other phenotypical markers of race? As a Black woman, I listened to this book and imagined a world of former white people now cos-playing as unwilling minstrels in unfortunate black face. I don’t mind a story that requires us to suspend disbelief, but this short book doesn’t give enough to make us understand why we would be emotionally invested in the plight of the protagonist.

The narrator was excellent tho, warm hypnotic voice that made the best of dull material. Everything isn’t for everyone, and this just wasn’t for me.