What do you think?
Rate this book
Who Will Pay Reparations On My Soul? Essays
Ranging from Ta-Nehisi Coates’s case for reparations to Toni Morrison’s revolutionary humanism to D’Angelo’s simmering blend of R and racial justice, Jesse McCarthy’s bracing essays investigate with virtuosic intensity the art, music, literature, and political stances that have defined the twenty-first century. Even as our world has suffered through successive upheavals, McCarthy contends, “something was happening in the world of culture: a surging and unprecedented visibility at every level of black art making.” Who Will Pay Reparations on My Soul? reckons with this resurgence, arguing for the central role of art and intellectual culture in an age of widening inequality and moral crisis.
McCarthy reinvigorates the essay form as a space not only for argument but for experimental writing that mixes and chops the old ways into new ones. In “Notes on Trap,” he borrows a conceit from Susan Sontag to reveal the social and political significance of trap music, the drug-soaked strain of Southern hip-hop that, as he puts it, is “the funeral music that the Reagan Revolution deserves.” In “Back in the Day,” McCarthy, a black American raised in France, evokes his childhood in Paris through an elegiac account of French rap in the 1990s. In “The Master’s Tools,” the relationship between Spanish painter Diego Velázquez and his acolyte-slave, Juan de Pareja, becomes the lens through which Kehinde Wiley’s paintings are viewed, while “To Make a Poet Black” explores the hidden blackness of Sappho and the erotic power of Phillis Wheatley. Essays on John Edgar Wideman, Claudia Rankine, and Colson Whitehead survey the state of black letters. In his title essay, McCarthy takes on the question of reparations, arguing that true progress will not come until Americans remake their institutions in the service of true equality. As he asks, “What can reparations mean when the damage cannot be accounted for in the only system of accounting that a society recognizes?”
For readers of Teju Cole’s Known and Strange Things and Mark Greif’s Against Everything, McCarthy’s essays portray a brilliant young critic at work, making sense of our disjointed times while seeking to transform our understanding of race and art, identity and representation.
McCarthy reinvigorates the essay form as a space not only for argument but for experimental writing that mixes and chops the old ways into new ones. In “Notes on Trap,” he borrows a conceit from Susan Sontag to reveal the social and political significance of trap music, the drug-soaked strain of Southern hip-hop that, as he puts it, is “the funeral music that the Reagan Revolution deserves.” In “Back in the Day,” McCarthy, a black American raised in France, evokes his childhood in Paris through an elegiac account of French rap in the 1990s. In “The Master’s Tools,” the relationship between Spanish painter Diego Velázquez and his acolyte-slave, Juan de Pareja, becomes the lens through which Kehinde Wiley’s paintings are viewed, while “To Make a Poet Black” explores the hidden blackness of Sappho and the erotic power of Phillis Wheatley. Essays on John Edgar Wideman, Claudia Rankine, and Colson Whitehead survey the state of black letters. In his title essay, McCarthy takes on the question of reparations, arguing that true progress will not come until Americans remake their institutions in the service of true equality. As he asks, “What can reparations mean when the damage cannot be accounted for in the only system of accounting that a society recognizes?”
For readers of Teju Cole’s Known and Strange Things and Mark Greif’s Against Everything, McCarthy’s essays portray a brilliant young critic at work, making sense of our disjointed times while seeking to transform our understanding of race and art, identity and representation.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published March 30, 2021
41 people are currently reading
2428 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
June 3, 2021
This was one of those books that reinforces my belief that there is (at least for me) some kind of physical phenomenon that happens in my brain when I'm having a certain kind of intellectual experience. It's like there are sensors in my brain that aren't usually turned on, unless I'm reading something that makes me think in a very particular way.
McCarthy writes beautifully - elegantly balanced sentences that start out somewhere and proceed in a clear fashion to somewhere. He doesn't seem interested in being flip or "accessible" or creating an effect. He's also an interesting thinker, taking an alternate viewpoint on things like reparations or the current thinking on race in society. He makes the point that what has happened to black people in America is too deep and wide to be repaired with money - what's required is no less than a redesign of America, and anything less will not make reparations.
His essay on 'Afropessimism' critiques a current in black academic thought in such a way that although I haven't read the author he focuses on, I got a sense of what the conversation is about.
I know just about nothing of rap music and its relatives and permutations so the essays on music were a little lost on me, but there was one touching moment where, contrasting rap in the US and France, he mentions a rapper in France who wrote a song about how fathers need to be present for and love their sons, saying that an American rapper could never have written such a thing.
His essays on Sappho and on the Spanish painter who was a slave of Velasquez were fascinating.
I'm looking forward to more writing from this author.
McCarthy writes beautifully - elegantly balanced sentences that start out somewhere and proceed in a clear fashion to somewhere. He doesn't seem interested in being flip or "accessible" or creating an effect. He's also an interesting thinker, taking an alternate viewpoint on things like reparations or the current thinking on race in society. He makes the point that what has happened to black people in America is too deep and wide to be repaired with money - what's required is no less than a redesign of America, and anything less will not make reparations.
His essay on 'Afropessimism' critiques a current in black academic thought in such a way that although I haven't read the author he focuses on, I got a sense of what the conversation is about.
I know just about nothing of rap music and its relatives and permutations so the essays on music were a little lost on me, but there was one touching moment where, contrasting rap in the US and France, he mentions a rapper in France who wrote a song about how fathers need to be present for and love their sons, saying that an American rapper could never have written such a thing.
His essays on Sappho and on the Spanish painter who was a slave of Velasquez were fascinating.
I'm looking forward to more writing from this author.
May 25, 2021
Truly one of the best books I’ve read! Utterly amazing!
April 14, 2022
McCarthy is so gifted!
April 19, 2021
Dizzyingly brilliant. Read it.
August 26, 2021
"TRAP IS THE ONLY MUSIC that sounds like what living in contemporary America feels like. It is the soundtrack of the dissocialized subject that neoliberalism made. It is the funeral music that the Reagan revolution deserves."
Jesse McCarthy is an outstanding cultural critic. I read the essay 'Notes on Trap' in n+1 magazine when it first came out in 2018, and I've re-read it several times since. The essays in this collection are really top-notch.
Jesse McCarthy is an outstanding cultural critic. I read the essay 'Notes on Trap' in n+1 magazine when it first came out in 2018, and I've re-read it several times since. The essays in this collection are really top-notch.
August 7, 2024
My experience reading this was heavily influenced by what I thought this collection will be and what it actually turned out to be. I will go with the time honored copout of its not the book rather it was me. I initially thought it will be in the vein of Ta-nehisi Coates writing, it was not. This collection is mostly about reviews of art and a few essays on racial matters. I feel like I should have known that before hand. I spent most of my time on this reading reviews of subjects I have never heard of or was only marginally aware of. Ever heard of French hip hop scene in the 90s? The essays devolved into a name checking affair and felt overly academic and I did not connect with a lot of them. It's my fault to think everyone can write like Didion, it is also unfair to the writer to compare him to Didion.
I will qualify this review and say these are my sentiments, there are a lot of glowing reviews here, it is just that for me, I felt robbed and a lot of my time wasted reading things I had a marginal understanding of. I like reading essays that are more humanized and tackle subjects that couldn't warrant a book length, I am also of the opinion that a review of something should be in the medium it is consumed, songs should be reviewed in podcasts or heard mediums and movies or paintings should be reviewed in a visual medium, no matter how good a writer you are, you can never describe a song good enough to beat hearing the actual song.... I could go on and on, I am going to stop here and advise the interested reader to read other reviews in addition to this one before making a call on whether to read it or not.
I will qualify this review and say these are my sentiments, there are a lot of glowing reviews here, it is just that for me, I felt robbed and a lot of my time wasted reading things I had a marginal understanding of. I like reading essays that are more humanized and tackle subjects that couldn't warrant a book length, I am also of the opinion that a review of something should be in the medium it is consumed, songs should be reviewed in podcasts or heard mediums and movies or paintings should be reviewed in a visual medium, no matter how good a writer you are, you can never describe a song good enough to beat hearing the actual song.... I could go on and on, I am going to stop here and advise the interested reader to read other reviews in addition to this one before making a call on whether to read it or not.
June 5, 2021
It took me awhile to get into this essay collection (likely due to the recency of reading Hanif Abdurraqib‘s latest essay collection) both because of style and subject. Most of these essays are very academic (I.e. verbose) and rich in allusions and references, however there were a few essays that really resonated with me: “To Make a Poet Black”, “Back in the Day”, and “Notes on Trap”. “On Afropessimism” and “Who Will Pay Reparations on My Soul” were thought-provoking, but made me question when these essays were penned given how much has happened over the past 4 years let alone 2020. It’s hard to invoke or allude to TNC without introducing a ridiculously high bar, but these two essays tried to create an invitation to reconsider TNC’s seminal works more critically-with varying levels of success.
Overall, I’m glad I was introduced to McCarthy’s work and especially grateful for the Sources and Suggested Reading section.
Overall, I’m glad I was introduced to McCarthy’s work and especially grateful for the Sources and Suggested Reading section.
March 27, 2023
Jesse McCarthy writes like a modern day Baldwin. Reading his essays also makes me feel like an uncultured swine.
July 6, 2021
If you read only one book this year, make it this one. McCarthy's writing is fully transcendent. No better essay collection exists.
March 10, 2024
Jesse McCarthy is one of the best essayists in the American letters today. Blending reflections on race, philosophy, literature, art, and pop culture, this début collection is a thoughtful appraisal of the post-2008 zeitgeist in critical black studies, albeit with an even measure of pragmatism.
Highly recommended pieces:
The master’s tools
To make a poet black
Language and the black intellectual tradition
Who will pay reparations on my soul?
The work of art in an age of spectacular reproduction
Harlem is everywhere
Highly recommended pieces:
The master’s tools
To make a poet black
Language and the black intellectual tradition
Who will pay reparations on my soul?
The work of art in an age of spectacular reproduction
Harlem is everywhere
January 16, 2023
I first heard Jesse McCarthy on Fox radio. It was intriguing to hear him speak to the conservative host about a wide variety of topics, including, of course, politics.
I decided to purchase the book and while it took me portions of three years to read it, it is a great, critical book, filled with wonderfully written essays about topics from slavery, hip-hop, Harlem, France, and more.
I look forward to hearing and reading more from McCarthy in the future decades. I feel he is uniquely placed, familiar with both American and European culture, having spent many years living in France.
His writing is not condescending or overly authoritative. He is piecing together answers to questions he has, and we are joyfully along for the ride.
I decided to purchase the book and while it took me portions of three years to read it, it is a great, critical book, filled with wonderfully written essays about topics from slavery, hip-hop, Harlem, France, and more.
I look forward to hearing and reading more from McCarthy in the future decades. I feel he is uniquely placed, familiar with both American and European culture, having spent many years living in France.
His writing is not condescending or overly authoritative. He is piecing together answers to questions he has, and we are joyfully along for the ride.
July 24, 2021
WOW WOW WOW!
March 31, 2021
These essays audaciously integrate art, music, literature and politics—all seen through the lens of race. McCarthy is a superb writer and this is a stunning collection that straddles "high" and "low" culture. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
April 20, 2021
Deeply inquisitive, Beautiful writing. I would recommend this book to everyone
Read
December 10, 2022An incredible work of careful analysis and delicious prose, essays whose import won’t expire any time soon. “To Make a Poet Black” and “Notes on Trap” are must reads.
March 11, 2022
This book is a must read for anyone who wants more context both historical and present on how Black art and culture have played a role in resistance, decolonization, and celebration. The author doesn't just talk about the US either but brings in relevant context from around the world. The language can be a bit difficult at times in terms of its academic air, but other chapters are so seamlessly in opposition to this vibe. It's definitely an interesting and educational read that offers a lot of different perspectives on blackness through recent time and space.
May 22, 2022
I loved this collections of essays. Why? Because the author really challenged me to think. In his essays covering a broad range of topics: arts, culture, music, politics and more - he provided me a broadening look at the world. I’m certain that I didn’t pick up all the nuances of the intellectual arguments that he is making….but his thoughtful reflections on life in this world, blackness, and economy - help me see things much more broadly.
Read
August 22, 2022I think he's more of an arts/culture critical than a politics critic (or maybe it's just that political essays rarely age to feel as revelatory to the reader as they probably did when they were first published) but I really enjoyed this. Need to Google a lot of these references (both the philosophy ones and the trap music ones). I love it when an author is just unabashedly smart and expects you to keep up.
April 16, 2021
It was a good read.
June 3, 2021
so, so good
July 15, 2021
how to say 🤯🤯🤯🤯... the art history artist socially conscious person inside of me is so grateful that this exists. all the other parts of me are grateful too, this book is so good
August 7, 2021
6/6
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
December 20, 2021
Skimmed.
December 29, 2021
Beautiful and informative! The amt of time it took me to finish this one doesn’t accurately convey how interesting I found it
March 6, 2022
For me the strongest essay here was "Notes on Trap." And also it was wonderful to see an American write about Mathias Énard ("In the Zone"), a favorite of mine.
April 14, 2022
Had to be next to a computer reading this book just so I could look up all the people, places, artworks and artist mentioned. Great essay on trap music and on Ta-Nehisi Coates essay on reparations
May 24, 2022
The warm-hearted brilliance of Jesse McCarthy fuses black arts and culture with contemporary politics and philosophy, for the radical wholeness of colour citizenry as the foundation of a hope of a brighter future.
The bravura, refutation of Afropessimism is the essay with both intellect and heart. I can't count how many shivers I have while listening to this.
The bravura, refutation of Afropessimism is the essay with both intellect and heart. I can't count how many shivers I have while listening to this.
July 11, 2022
Beautifully written - connecting our current cultural moments to those of the past. It helps to get familiar or reconnected with Walter Benjamin and D’Angelo at some point during this read.
August 22, 2024
Well he's very very very talented as a writer! Funny funny snappy guy in person too
October 29, 2022
Wow! I bought this partly because it had such high ratings here. So far I have only read the intro and half of the first essay. I will keep slogging along for a few more essays, give it some more chances. But it may become a dnf. I'm actually a reasonably smart and educated person (I do have a PhD), but this may be just too erudite and abstract/ intellectual to keep me motivated to read it. I have an excellent vocabulary, but I have to keep looking up words (chiastic?). And there are about ten references per page to various authors and artists, some of whom I am familiar with and some not. But that contributes to the academic tone of it.
....I made it almost half of the way through, but it is just not my thing. Literary criticism, art criticism, music criticism, all at a very high academic level. It is all from an African American point of view with a lot of analysis of colonization etc. But I just can't get through it. DNF.
....I made it almost half of the way through, but it is just not my thing. Literary criticism, art criticism, music criticism, all at a very high academic level. It is all from an African American point of view with a lot of analysis of colonization etc. But I just can't get through it. DNF.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews