We Cast A Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

I found this book very disturbing but would give it an 8 1/2 or 9 on a 1-10 chart.  It falls into the category of Science Fiction and tends toward the area called alternative history whether or not that was the intent.  The disturbing thing about it is that it smacks of being almost too possibly a “history” of the future.

In the book, the relations between the races, especially Black versus non-Black have gone awry worse we would hope they ever would.  We are left with a family struggling to do what is best for his son, his young mixed-race son.  It all hinges on the best response to new technology that can make his son fit into the white culture more fully.

Is fitting in worth the psychological cost?  I found myself angry that this beautiful family should have to deal with such a question to start with.  Unfortunately, the story comes at a time when racism and bigotry seem to be on the upswing and have been almost ascendant over the last 4 years,  and it seems possible that being Black is becoming more instead of less dangerous here in the United States in real time.

I can only understand this novel with reference to the political climate I see around here on a daily basis and has been so prevalent especially over the last 4 years.