Half and Half: Writers on Growing Up Biracial and Bicultural,   ISBN:9780375700118

Customer Rating: 

This is a wonderful collection of essays on growing up biracial and bicultural. It is a little uneven. Some are more readable than others, and I found myself skimming at times when some of the essays started to feel similar, but the good parts are strong enough to make it more than worth it.

A common thread that comes up are early childhood memories of not thinking much of it, followed by some period in adolescence or early adulthood where the social, psychological, and political issues around race and culture simply could not be ignored. There are many examples of drawing on positives from both sides but also that reality, described in a most straightforward way by Garrett Hongo: "Being different wears you down."

The struggle to establish a sense of identity is a normal developmental challenge for adolescents even in the absence of confounding variables (and these days, since adolescence effectively stretches out and overlaps well into early adulthood, so to does the task of crafting a sense of self). This job is that much harder for children growing up biracial and bicultural. This because, as Claudine Chiawei O'Hearn explains in her introduction, "One and one don't necessarily add up to two. Cultural and racial amalgams create a third, wholly indistinguishable category where origin and home are indeterminate." Malcolm Gladwell talks about this in terms of having the usual `who am I?' questions we grapple with subjugated subverted by having to answer the question "what are you?"

This job is that much harder because, despite the well-meaning intentions of those who speak of a colorblind society, it simply isn't the reality. We know scientifically that racial categories as discrete entities are only social constructs, that mixing has always been more common than acknowledged, that characteristic traits exist in grades along a continuum. We know now that genetic variation within a group trumps genetic variation between groups. We know this intellectually but we still don't know it in our guts. We live in societies that are not colorblind, in families that are not colorblind, and we ourselves are not colorblind. It's just not how our brains work. None of us operate in an assumption-free, value-free environment. We internalize messages out there in our neighborhoods, in the media, and in our homes, and our expectations of ourselves and others are affected.

I particularly enjoyed Danzy Senna's essay, "The Mulatto Millennium," in which she talks about racism as "... a slippery devil. Like Madonna, it changes its image every couple of years." She describes her own experience, which she argues were "difficult not because things were confusing, but rather because things were so painfully clear. Racism, as well as the absurdity of race, were obvious to me in ways that they perhaps weren't to those whose racial classification was a given." Lori Tsang also writes powerfully on the slipperiness of race and the bind that puts those in who are saddled with positive stereotypes, as a member of a so-called "Model Minority:" "Race is the myth upon which the reality of racism is predicated, the wild card the racist always keeps hidden up his sleeve. The racist has the power to determine whether the card will be a diamond or a spade, whether a Chinese is black or white." Meri Nana-Ama Danquah talks about the `compliments' she would receive, praise for "not talking like them," for being "special, exceptional, different, exotic," verbal kindness that belied tolerance as opposed to acceptance: "These words, which flowed so freely from the lips of teachers, parents, and fellow students, were intended to excuse me from my race, to cage me like some zoo animal being domesticated; these words, I realized years later, were intend to absolve those white people from their own racism."

I also particularly enjoyed the writings of Roxane Faranfarmaian, whose mother was a Mormon and her father was a Muslim, I made the transformation most people she gets to know have to be walked through, initially being amazed that such opposites could come together but later seeing such profound similarities I could barely remember my initial reaction.

There is much more insight in this collection than I could do justice to in a review. Like I said at the top a few of the essays drag at times but, all taken together, there is enough powerful and important writing in this book to strongly encourage you to read it.

Customer Rating: 

I am highschool student. all my life I have been made fun of by fellow student once I got into middle school it got worse people started asking me What Are You? and started trying to force me to pick a race no matter what I always replied I am mixed this book shows the courage and struggle us biracial and biculturel go througth everyday a truly wonderful book

Customer Rating: 

The early entries in the book (first 100 pages) are very interesting tales of unconventional lives revealing the author's confusion with his/her ethnicity. However, after ten or so entries, the reading becomes old and repitive revealing many Americans need to preach their problems. Being biracial/multicultural is not a problem but a gift which I can personally attest. The readings need more creativity in establishing a point that is engaging but captivating. Its too easy to simply say back when I was 4 I came to the realization that... and over and over again. With this book all I can say is find the entry which most relates to your personal history because this book proves that the whole is not greater than the sum, of a portion mind you,of its parts.

Customer Rating: 

This is a delightful book, a nice addition to all of the biracial & bicultural writings by wonderful writers. Danzy Senna's chapter is the best! This chapter had me cracking up for months. It deals with some tough racial issues w/ great humor. Behind the humor of course are issues of race, gender, power, oppression. . . however, Senna's writing mastery is brilliant. Thanks for a great anthology, overall.

Customer Rating: 

I read this for a class assignment, and enjoyed it so much. Recommended for teens as well as adults.