Both girls work hard towards full acceptance by studying how to speak and act 'black.' Finally, after much practice, they reach their goal.

She and Cole transfer to a Black Power school, where she is ostracized because of her light skin, but Cole achieves a tentative acceptance. As a young child, Birdie understands vaguely that most people judge identity-particularly racial identity-by how one looks and how one behaves. The novel focuses on some of the most formative years of Birdie's life, ages 7-8 and 12-15. This much-acclaimed debut novel won Danzy Senna the Book of the Month Club's Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction, finalist status in the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award competition, and a place on the Los Angeles Times's 'Best Book of the Year' list.Ĭaucasia's chief contribution to mixed race literature lies in its measured, thoughtful untangling of 'identity,' particularly racial identity: what it is, how it develops, who decides it, and more. She runs away, this time leaving Sandy to go in search of her sister and her self.īut is it too little, too late? Are Deck, Cole, and blackness lost to Birdie forever? Review:Ĭaucasia conveys deep racial insight through a compelling child narrator (Birdie) and beautifully rich prose. Then Sandy blows their cover, and Birdie realizes she can't wait any longer. Birdie's life with Sandy is defined by instability, her only solace dreaming of the day when she and Cole will reunite and she can acknowledge her black identity again. They split custody of the girls according to skin color: Cole, visibly black, heads to Brazil with Deck, and Birdie begins passing as a half-Jewish white girl and goes on the run with Sandy.įor more than four years, the sisters have no contact with each other. After they divorce, Deck leaves the U.S., a new girlfriend in tow, while Sandy starts traveling New England as a fugitive from the FBI. Both have a history of radical race activism. Her mother, Sandy, is a white community activist and special education teacher. As young children, the sisters retreat to this world to escape the things that threaten them, especially the slow crumbling of their parents' dysfunctional marriage.īirdie's father, Deck Lee, is a black intellectual who spends his days thinking and writing about race. The two girls are so close that they have developed a secret language, 'Elemeno.' Together, they dream of a fantasy world, also called 'Elemeno,' whose inhabitants can change appearance as needed to blend in and survive.

Growing up biracial in 1970s Boston, she needs Cole's protection and support to cope with the racial tensions of the time (see 'Boston busing desegregation').

Seven-year-old Birdie Lee idolizes her big sister, Cole. The younger, lighter girl grows into a troubled teenager, but she never forgets her beloved older sister. Two biracial sisters-one light-skinned, one dark-are separated as children.

Caucasia book