🎭 I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett — A Satirical, Surreal, and Brilliantly Absurd Journey Into Identity

Now and then, I stumble upon a book that doesn’t just speak—it winks. It nudges. It twists my expectations into a knot and dares me to untangle them. I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett is exactly that kind of book.

It’s weird in all the right ways. Hilarious and sharp. Bizarre but intentional. And deeply, uncomfortably honest in how it probes the question: Who gets to decide who we are?

As a woman who reads to uncover layers—not just in characters but in the world—I found myself captivated by this story’s unique blend of satire, surrealism, and philosophical playfulness. It’s one of those novels that makes you laugh, then flinch, then laugh again—because the truth it’s pointing at is anything but funny.

📘 What Is I Am Not Sidney Poitier About? (Without Spoilers)

The book follows a man named—yes—Not Sidney Poitier, a young Black man burdened with a bizarre name and a life that seems to echo the iconic actor’s most famous film roles. After the death of his mother, Not Sidney inherits a massive fortune and is taken in by the eccentric billionaire Ted Turner (yes, the actual Ted Turner… sort of).

From there, things unravel in the most gloriously absurd ways. Not Sidney is thrown into surreal encounters with racist institutions, academic nonsense, and people who constantly try to define him through the lens of who they think he should be. He even meets a professor named Percival Everett (yes, again, sort of) who teaches “Nonsense Philosophy” and dishes out cryptic guidance like a Zen master who’s read too much Nietzsche.

Along the way, Not Sidney keeps slipping into moments that feel eerily like scenes from Sidney Poitier’s films. And through these moments, Everett builds a sharp, hilarious, and heartbreaking meditation on what it means to be a Black man in a world obsessed with labels.

🎭 Mood, Tone, and Themes: A Carnival of the Mind

Reading I Am Not Sidney Poitier feels like stepping into a hall of mirrors—each chapter reflecting some distorted truth about race, class, identity, or absurdity. It’s funny, yes, but not light. There’s weight in its wit.

🧩 Race and Societal Expectations

Everett skewers the way Black identity is often flattened into digestible clichés for white comfort or commercial gain. Not Sidney isn’t just navigating his world—he’s constantly being narrated by others, reduced, reimagined, redefined.

It made me pause more than once and think about how often we’re all cast into roles we never auditioned for.

🧠 The Philosophy of Nonsense

Everett doesn’t just critique society—he questions the very meaning of meaning. What is nonsense? What is identity? What does it mean to be anything in a world where absurdity feels like the norm?

If this sounds lofty, don’t worry—it’s wrapped in the most entertaining, tongue-in-cheek packaging. Think Kafka meets Dave Chappelle.

👤 The Search for Self

Not Sidney’s journey isn’t just external—it’s a quiet scream from within. Who am I when everyone thinks they already know? When does every conversation feel like a costume fitting?

That struggle hit home for me—because haven’t we all, at some point, felt like we were being seen for someone we’re not?

💬 How the Book Made Me Feel

Honestly? I felt off-balance. And I loved it.

Some chapters made me laugh so hard that I had to put the book down. And others that left me staring at the page, the humour curdled, the message cutting through.

What I adored most was how playful the novel is. Even its deepest critiques come laced with a wink. Everett isn’t here to preach—he’s here to perform a dazzling act of intellectual mischief, and we’re lucky enough to be in the audience.

🧠 Who Should Read I Am Not Sidney Poitier?

If you’re a fan of clever, genre-defying fiction that mixes social satire with existential riddles, you need this book on your shelf.

If you’ve ever felt like you don’t fit into the boxes the world tries to place you in—this book will speak to you. Loudly. And with wit.

If you loved novels like The Sellout by Paul Beatty, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, or even Catch-22—I Am Not Sidney Poitier, it belongs in your hands.

And if you’re simply looking for a story that’s unlike anything you’ve read before—this is it.

💡 Final Thoughts

Percival Everett’s I Am Not Sidney Poitier is more than a satirical novel. It’s a mind-bending, laugh-out-loud, gut-check of a book that dares us to question how we see ourselves—and how the world insists on seeing us.

It’s about race, yes. But also about freedom. About naming. About absurdity and control. It asks: What happens when your identity is a joke the world won’t stop telling?

It left me shaken. Grinning. Enlightened in ways I didn’t expect. And most of all, it reminded me why I read: not just to find comfort but to find truth in chaos.

If this sounds like your kind of story… please read it. You’ll never forget it.

👉 📚 ByOneClick – One Click, Endless Stories.