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I Am Not Sidney Poitier  By  cover art

I Am Not Sidney Poitier

By: Percival Everett
Narrated by: Amir Abdullah
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Publisher's summary

I Am Not Sidney Poitier is an irresistible comic novel from the master storyteller Percival Everett

I was, in life, to be a gambler, a risk-taker, a swashbuckler, a knight. I accepted, then and there, my place in the world. I was a fighter of windmills. I was a chaser of whales. I was Not Sidney Poitier.

Not Sidney Poitier is an amiable young man in an absurd country. The sudden death of his mother orphans him at age eleven, leaving him with an unfortunate name, an uncanny resemblance to the famous actor, and, perhaps more fortunate, a staggering number of shares in the Turner Broadcasting Corporation.

Percival Everett's hilarious new novel follows Not Sidney's tumultuous life, as the social hierarchy scrambles to balance his skin color with his fabulous wealth. Maturing under the less-than watchful eye of his adopted foster father, Ted Turner, Not gets arrested in rural Georgia for driving while black, sparks a dinner table explosion at the home of his manipulative girlfriend, and sleuths a murder case in Smut Eye, Alabama, all while navigating the recurrent communication problem: "What's your name?" a kid would ask. "Not Sidney," I would say. "Okay, then what is it?"

©2009 Percival Everett (P)2023 Tantor

What listeners say about I Am Not Sidney Poitier

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Funniest book ever - told all my reading friends and fam

This novel was a gift of joy delight and fun I gave to myself and relished every chapter.

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  • Ed
  • 10-02-23

Amusing Story with Percival Everett Humor

Another great title by Percival Everett. Similar in humor to Dr. No but the author's use of characters that are apparently totally created by the author is brilliant. It touches on race and stereotypes but in a different way than his other titles.

The reading was also well done. The reader's timing and tone complimented the wordplay and deadpan humor of the title. There were a couple of editing flubs, but it was otherwise perfect.

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Hysterical

Self-referential, funny as hell, very clever wordplay. Multi-layered commentary on identity, personas, place. Brilliant.

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Cool, indifference 

A great escape from the heavy nonfiction pieces that I usually read but this is a great and whimsical story well crafted and told. Bravo.

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