A Particular Kind of Black Man by Tope Folarin

A Particular Kind of Black Man by Tope Folarin is a semi-autobiographical novel that explores the fragmented nature of identity, memory, and the immigrant experience in America.

Summary

The novel follows Tunde Akinola, the son of Nigerian immigrants, as he grows up in the predominantly white environments of Utah and Texas. The story centers on Tunde’s search for a sense of belonging while navigating his mother’s mental illness, his father’s relentless pursuit of the American Dream, and the pressures of conforming to specific societal expectations of Blackness. As an adult, Tunde struggles with “double memories” recalling two versions of the same event which forces him to reconstruct his past to understand who he truly is.

Plot

• Childhood and Loss: Tunde’s early life in Ogden, Utah, is marked by isolation as his family is often the only Black family for miles. His mother, Theresa, descends into a severe mental illness characterized by paranoia and violence, eventually leading to her being sent back to Nigeria.
• The Ice Cream Business: Tunde’s father, Segun, struggles through various jobs before starting an ice cream truck business in Hartville, Utah. Tunde and his brother Tayo spend their summers working in the truck, where Segun attempts to shield them from racism by insisting they adopt “perfect” American accents.
• A New Family: Segun remarries a woman from Nigeria who brings her two sons, Ade and Femi, to America. Tunde desperately seeks her love, but she remains distant and eventually leaves the family for another man after they move to Dallas, Texas.
• University and Identity: Tunde attends Morehouse College, where he finally finds himself surrounded by other Black men. However, he begins experiencing “double memories,” leading to a psychological crisis where he cannot distinguish between reality and his imagination.
• Return to Nigeria: In the final section, Tunde travels to Lagos, Nigeria, to find his biological mother and discover his roots. He learns his grandmother has died and finally confronts the reality of his mother’s condition, realizing that his memories and stories are what sustain his identity.

Setting

• Utah (Ogden, Bountiful, Hartville): A white, Mormon-dominated environment where the Akinola family feels like “foreigners” and “postapocalyptic scavengers”.
• Texas (Cirrilo, Dallas): Represents a move toward a larger Nigerian community, though Tunde still feels like an outsider.
• Morehouse College (Atlanta): A space Tunde imagined as a “relic of the past” where he wouldn’t be “unusual,” but where he still feels like an outsider.
• Lagos, Nigeria: A sensory-heavy environment that Tunde finds both familiar through “tongue’s memories” of food and utterly alien in its reality.

Themes

• Identity and Performance: Tunde studies public figures like Sidney Poitier and Bryant Gumbel to perform a version of Blackness that is “acceptable” to white society.
• The Immigrant Experience: The novel depicts the “American Dream” as a source of both hope and immense psychological burden for Tunde’s father.
• Mental Illness and Heritage: Tunde fears he has inherited his mother’s “broken” mind, viewing his double memories as the first steps toward her fate.
• Memory as Construction: The narrative suggests that for those in exile, memory is a “passageway into the future” rather than just a record of the past.

Characters

Major Characters

• Tunde Akinola: The protagonist who navigates life with an “active imagination” and a deep-seated feeling of not belonging.
• Segun (Father): A man obsessed with “staring ahead” to survive racism and the loss of his wife.
• Theresa (Mother): Tunde’s biological mother, whose mental health decline leaves Tunde with “scars engraved on [his] body”.
• Tayo: Tunde’s younger brother who adapts to American culture (like “how to be Black”) more easily than Tunde.
• Step-mother: A distant figure whose departure further fragments Tunde’s sense of family.

Minor Characters

• Mrs. Hansen: An elderly white woman in Utah who tells Tunde he can “serve her in heaven,” referencing a racist Mormon doctrine.
• Ade and Femi: Tunde’s step-brothers from Nigeria.
• Grandma: A “voice on the phone” from Nigeria who encourages Tunde to “focus on himself”.
• AJ Reynolds: A Black student in Texas whom Tunde admires and shadows to learn how to “be in the world”.
• Noelle: Tunde’s girlfriend at Morehouse/Bates who challenges him to confront his past and visit his mother.

Literary Devices

• Unreliable Narrator: Tunde’s “double memories” mean he frequently questions the truth of his own story.
• Metaphor: The ice cream truck and “BAD ICE CREAM” hierarchy represent the family’s economic struggle and their attempt to sell a “perfect” version of themselves to the public.
• Imagery: Vivid descriptions of Lagos, such as the “ecstatic waves” of blood at a market, contrast with the “yellowing carpet” and “shit-colored carpet” of their American apartments.
• Foreshadowing: Tunde’s early childhood “shack in heaven” and his dreams foreshadow his later psychological dislocation and search for a home that doesn’t exist.
• Repetition: The repeated phrase “You are a young man now” serves as a mantra for Tunde’s growth and eventual self-reliance.