Review | Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Friday Black is a collection that pulls no punches! Most of the stories are set in a dystopian, near-futuristic setting, reminiscent of Black Mirror with its dark humour and cutting satire. Racism, capitalism, morality, and complicity are some of the themes explored here.

𝑬𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏: 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒆𝒍𝒍.

I consider two particular stories a must read! The Finklestein 5 is gut-wrenching and chillingly rendered. A white man is acquitted after murdering five Black teens, and it leads to a violent retaliation. Visceral and emotional, this story is the closest reflection of the world we live in. Zimmerland takes place in a Westworld-like theme park where people can participate in a Stand Your Ground roleplay. Hauntingly effective and left a mark on me.

Three stories take place in a retail store where consumerism and death go hand in hand. In Friday Black customers turn into a zombie-like horde during Black Friday. How To Sell A Jacket As Told By IceKing shows the many ways a retail worker tries to make a sale even as his coworker tries to undermine him. In Retail highlights the desperation of a retail worker just trying to survive the job. Other notable stories are The Lion & The Spider which  portrays a complicated father and son relationship and Through The Flash where a family is stuck on a loop reliving the day of a nuclear explosion.

However, I did find two stories to be really weak. Both Lark Street and Light Spitter deal with abortion and a school shooting respectively. But these issues are handled in a too simplistic, frivolous way.

Overall, Friday Black is a stunningly written collection that is perfectly fitting in these times.

About the author: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo