Blackass is a novel by Nigerian author A. Igoni Barrett. It was released in the United Kingdom and Nigeria in 2015, and 2016 in the United States. It received mixed reviews.
Plot summary Blackass is a story about a young Nigerian Furo Wariboko, who wakes up on the eve of a job interview to discover that he has transformed into a white guy overnight. As he adjusts to his new appearance, he meets Arinze, who offers Furo a far more lucrative job than he expected.
Reception The Financial Times called Blackass "strange (and) compelling, (...with) something to tell us all", and explicitly compared it to Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Writing in The Guardian, Helon Habila lauded Barrett for "his ability to satirise the ridiculous extents people, especially Lagosians, go to in order to appear important." Claire Fallon for the Huffington Post found the novel to be "blunt (and) transparently written", but also "subtle (and) circumspect."Fallon, Claire (4 March 2016), "The Bottom Line: ‘Blackass’ By A. Igoni Barrett", HuffPost Arts and Culture. Aaron Bady of Okayafrica stated that it is "the most unapologetically Nigerian book that American publishers have published in a long time".Bady, Aaron (10 March 2016), "A. Igoni Barrett’s 'Blackass' And The Afropolitan Debate", Okayafrica.
In 2016, Blackass won the People's Literature Publishing House and the Chinese Foreign Literature Society's 21st Century Best Foreign Novel Award."年度最佳外国小说”先睹为快" , Xinhua News Agency, 2 April 2017. It was nominated for the inaugural FT/OppenheimerFunds Emerging Voices Awards,"Emerging Voices Award Longlist Announced", OppenheimerFunds, 16 June 2015. the 2017 PEN Open Book Award,"2017 PEN Open Book Award", PEN America, December 2016 the 2015 Kitschies Golden Tentacle Award,"2015 Kitschies Short List" Locus Online, 22 February 2016. and the inaugural Nommo Award for Best Novel."2017 Nommo Awards Shortlist", Locus Online, 4 April 2017. In 2017, Blackass was nominated for a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in the debut fiction category."Hurston Wright Foundation Announces 2017 Legacy Awards Nominations", MahoganyBooks Blog, 30 June 2017."Hurston/Wright Foundation | A. Igoni Barrett", Hurstonwright.org.
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