Racebook: A Personal History of the Internet

Science fiction and fantasy novelist Onyebuchi (Riot Baby) reflects on identity, race, and the internet in his poetic and insightful debut essay collection. In the opener, “Is This a Race Book?,” Onyebuchi traces the evolution of the internet from a resource for learning to a tool for social justice activism to a mechanism for commercializing attention. He considers what it means to be a Black author who writes about race in the internet age, wondering if his success signifies he’s “little more than a constellation of commodified data points.” In later essays, Onyebuchi evokes nostalgia for earlier iterations of the internet and offers glimmers of hope, highlighting opportunities “to turn our tech into a vehicle for love, for connection.” His references and influences are wide-ranging, spanning sci-fi movies like Blade Runner 2049 and Ex Machina; novelists like David Foster Wallace, Patricia Lockwood, and William Gaddis; and video games like The Last of Us and Sonic the Hedgehog. In the standout “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream: The Duty of the Black Writer During Times of American Unrest,” Onyebuchi writes with searing honesty, “I can’t help fearing that the more non-Black people know about us—the more white people know about us—the more they have to hate.” This is a must-read. (Oct.)