Felicia McDonnell’s Reviews > Hell of a Book > Status Update

“I mean, white writers don’t have to write about being white….but because I am Black…does that mean that I can ever only write about blackness? Am I allowed to be something other than simply the color of my skin?

A recurring theme in the novel is visibility and invisibility. Soot’s blackness makes him vulnerable to criticism and violence. As a result, his parents try to teach him to be “unseen,” so that he can be safe. In Chapters 1, 3, and 5, Soot’s narrative explores the discomfort and danger of being seen and the way Black people can internalize white supremacist views. In Chapter 5, Soot’s grandfather Daddy Henry is convinced that Soot’s father shouldn’t draw Black people. This erasure is the product of internalizing harmful ideas in a racist society.

Unseen and safe” is a refrain that repeats throughout the novel. It is a mantra that William and his wife teach Soot as they try to also teach him how to become invisible. Visibility can be dangerous because when Black people are seen they are made vulnerable to racial violence. Hell of a Book leans on the concept of visibility to comment on this vulnerability because of the way that race for most Black people is a visually apparent part of one’s identity.