The Cotillion: or, One Good Bull Is Half the Herd

by John Oliver Killens, Alexs D. Pate (Introduction)

Beautiful, high-stepping Yoruba of Harlem is invited to the annual cotillion thrown by African American high society of Queens. Caught between the indifference of her father, the excitement of her social-climbing mother, and her prodigal boyfriend's militancy, Yoruba persuades her sister debutantes to challenge the aging doyennes in one of the most sidesplitting scenes in American literature. Nominated for a Pulitzer in 1972, Killens's uproarious satire captures the conflicts within black society in the 1960s. The Cotillion is the fourth title in Coffee House Press's acclaimed Black Arts Movement series. John Oliver Killens was born in Macon, Georgia in 1916. Co-founder of the Harlem Writers Guild, he taught at Howard and Columbia Universities. His other novels include And Then We Heard the Thunder, and The Great Black Russian.

Genres: Fiction, African American

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Andre(Read-A-Lot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The grandfather of the Black Arts Movement, John Oliver Killens crafted a humorous satirical look at the Black community at a time when Black consciousness was coming into vogue. All the major themes are present, good hair/bad hair, light skin/dark skin, aesthetic faculties, etc. Although the language is a little dated-the novel was written in 1971-it doesn't detract from the story. While clearly the writer falls on the "black is beautiful" side of the nationalist/integrationist debate, the novel never feels like a heavy handed attack on the black bourgeois class. However, they do get some much deserved grilling.

As the title suggests, the book centers around the young lady Yoruba, who is bullied by her mother to take part in the upcoming cotillion. Her mother Daphne is convinced that Yoruba's acceptance as a debutant will give her the key to high society. Well Yoruba, isn't quite sure and when she meets the conscious poet/writer Lumumba she begins to see her beauty and self worth, that she somehow overlooked. Lumumba as the narrative voice of the novel, takes on all the pretentiousness of the black middle class and how their lack of consciousness often makes them work against the masses. Because satire is the device used to execute this novel, there is obviously some wild exaggerations.

Clearly one of the goals was to force Black people to look in the mirror and locate themselves on the scale of consciousness. In this, I think he mostly succeeds. The cotillion climax is hilarious, yet sad when you consider in 2014 the same situation would probably produce a similiar level of outrage. You'll have to read the book to fully understand. The fact that the themes entertained in the novel are still topical 43 years later is nothing short of outrageously amazing.

[Ray Pettiford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a re-read. I first read this book 40 years ago. With the first 3 lines, I had named my daughter.
"Hey!
CALL HER YORUBA, RIGHT?
High Priestess of the Nation!"

for you, Yoruba Pettiford.

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are more than a few moments in here that might have squeaked by in 1969 but are now like WTF alarm bells (homophobia, a shaky understanding of consent) that were so loud it kind of diminished my enjoyment of this otherwise good-natured, love-filled story about two Afrocentric teenagers pressured to attend a black debutante ball. That's already a funny premise, with all the tension already there within the Black Bourgeoisie and then to throw some dashiki politics at it just ups the ante. Plus, there are lots of old-school folksy black barber shop jokes, including some at the very beginning actually in a barber shop. I caught one reference to a Harlem Renaissance poem and there might have been others... could be more than one "black thing" that escaped me... it's like when Flann O'Brien starts rapping in Gaelic...

Probably the most interesting character in here is the main character's mother, Lady Daphne, a woman of "mixed" ancestry from Barbados who seems to think the white man's ice is colder.

[Anne Harm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book -- a must-read, in my opinion, for anyone who wants to better understand race relations, human behavior. I'm so glad this was on our book club reading list! First thing I did when I finished, was start at the beginning again. There's just so much here... the basic tenets of human nature, social hierarchy, presented by thoroughly-expressed characters. The fact that the events happened during my lifetime provides some additional appeal, a chance to see new angles on and ways to look at events I experienced (at a fairly young age) -- and indeed continue to experience, today, in various forms.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books. Cutting sarcasm and humor. I read it for the first time when I was about 19 and it was one of the first books that made me actively question what it means to be "black" and ideas of "racial authenticity". Despite this Killens manages not to be preachy and the characters in the books are constantly entertaining. Very well executed satire.

[stacia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my absolute favorite books as an adolescent. I wish more of John Oliver Killens' work still print.

[Osiris Russell-Delano · Rating 5 out of 5]

My fav book

[Chandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered John Oliver Killens about five or six years ago when I checked out a raggedy copy of 'Youngblood' from the public library. I just fell completely in love with his writing. Then, I checked out this title and wasn't able to finish it because life got hectic. Thanks to Amazon.com, now, I'm in the process of adding his works to my library.

[Justianna Birzin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a satire of intra-racism and a glorification of the 60's. Its humor makes it a great companion to A Confederacy of Dunces. Yoruba and Daphne are a bit one-sided as characters for my taste, but Lamumba's efforts to dress respectably are touching and hilarious.

[Tom Leland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1971, a great way to dig into three-pronged dilemma of blacks wanting to assimilate in general into American society, black bias toward lighter-skinned, less "African" blacks, and struggling to find their pride of heritage/ancestry

[BiblioGeek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of the first that made me laugh out loud. A painfully accurate satire of Black Nationalism, African-American Bourgeoisie and urban living. I LOVED IT!