They Come in All Colors
Page 35
What a flimsy fucking umbrella. It took me five minutes to get the goddamned latch free, and then it just sort of reluctantly flopped open. A man carrying a cardboard box filled with all sorts of useful things for people walking around Midtown in the rain popped up in front of me and held out a new umbrella. He offered to sell it to me. I told him that I had too many cheap umbrellas. Sure, I was irritable. Just look at my thirty-dollar shoes.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
IT’S BEEN A LONG ROAD to this book, and I am forever grateful to those who have traveled down it with me. I am immensely indebted to Mildred Zambrano, for suffering through the many frustrations of the early days. To Amy and Jim Houran, for always keeping their door and hearts open to me. To Nancy Heiser, for giving me a sense of direction when I needed it most. To Jess Chen, for being an amazing godfather to my sons and a load-bearing beam for my family. To Paul Beatty, for teaching me how to be a completionist. To Victor LaValle, for his generosity in giving me a year of his time. To Jaida Temperly, for understanding where I was trying to go, and for her commitment in helping me get there. To Joanna Volpe, for taking over the reins with a steady hand. To Todd Hunter, for taking a leap of faith with me, and under whose stewardship—with special thanks to Molly Lindley Pisani—this book came into full bloom. To Ramsey and Wren, who never had a say in what they sacrificed for this to happen, and for loving me in spite of it. Most of all, I want to thank my wife, Maja, for sharing her sharp mind and extraordinary heart. She showed me what love, compassion, and forgiveness mean. That this book exists at all is testimony to her generosity as a wife, mother, friend, reader, editor, and muse.
And to Faustino, who lay at my feet as I sat in a bungalow in the Argentine Pampas working on an early draft. I wish he was still here.
THEY COME
IN ALL
COLORS
MALCOLM HANSEN
Reading Group Guide
This reading group guide for They Come in All Colors includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.
INTRODUCTION
The year was 1962. As Freedom Riders brought protests to the quiet farming town of Akersburg, Georgia, eight-year-old Huey Fairchild’s parents assured him of his identity. He was no different from his friends, who were white. Years later, as a student at New York City’s ritzy Claremont Prep, Huey finds that he can no longer deny the truth: he’s part black. As reality for Huey becomes inescapable, so does his anger. But can he heed his estranged father’s advice—That’s the wisdom of the river, Huey. It tells us to bend when there’s no other way—or will he allow his pride to get the better of him?
TOPICS AND QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Discuss the structure of the book. What’s the effect of alternating between fifteen-year-old Huey’s current life and that of his eight-year-old self? Did learning about Huey’s past help you better understand his current actions? Did your feelings change about Huey’s attack on Zukowski upon learning why he did it?
2. Did you find the plot of They Come in All Colors relevant to today’s headlines? If so, how?
3. How does the incident that transpires between the Freedom Riders and the white townsfolk in front of the S&W reflect the sociopolitical environment of the time period? Consider its impression on young Huey, as well as on the white and black residents of Akersburg.
4. There are several moments in the story that hint at Huey’s feelings toward his mom. When he was young, he proclaimed: “Mama’s the dark one in this family. Not me. I’m normal, okay?” When he’s a teenager, he forbids his mom from coming within ten blocks of his school. Why is it so important for Huey that his mom blend in? How do you think this affects Mrs. Fairchild?
5. What does Toby represent for the Fairchild family? What does Toby represent for the black and white residents of Akersburg? Why do you think it was important for him that Huey be more self-aware about his race?
6. Despite their physical differences, Huey and Zukowski share a lot in common. In fact, it was their similarities that brought them together in the first place. Compare and contrast Huey and Zukowski. How did the incident at the baseball game affect their relationship?
7. At the core of They Come in All Colors are themes of identity and family. How do the events that transpire in Akersburg affect the Fairchild family—more specifically, the relationship between Huey and his father? Do you think Huey’s anger as a teenager stems from his lack of a father figure?
8. At Claremont Prep, there are people, such as Mister McGovern and Clyde (the school’s colored janitor), who remind Huey that his presence at the school is unique. Do you think these interactions affect the ways in which Huey measures success?
9. In what ways does Pea’s character evolve over the course of the book? Consider the way her role as a parent changed from Akersburg to New York City.
10. Huey’s encounters with Evan—Toby’s son—are often violent. What do you think fuels Evan’s anger toward Huey? Are there any parallels between Evan’s actions toward Huey and Huey’s actions toward Zukowski?
11. Do you think Huey’s parents did the right thing by keeping him in the dark about his biracial identity? Why or why not? How did his parents’ decision shape his transition into adulthood?
12. On page 244, Huey recounts to his parents what happened at school: he was outed by his classmates for being black. He also reveals the accusations against his father—that he was the one who circulated the story of a break-in at Mr. Abrams’s pool. Describe the significance of this scene and its effect on everything thereafter. How do the revelations impact the family’s ability to move on?
ENHANCE YOUR BOOK CLUB
1. They Come in All Colors has been compared to The Secret Life of Bees and The White Boy Shuffle. Read these titles with your book club and compare them to They Come in All Colors. Are there any similar themes? In what ways do you think these books are alike?
2. Have an open and honest conversation about race and identity with members of your book club and/or at home with your family and friends.
3. To learn more about Malcolm Hansen and read reviews of They Come in All Colors, become a fan of his Simon & Schuster author page at www.simonandschuster.biz/authors/Malcolm-Hansen/2134092647.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MALCOLM HANSEN was born at the Florence Crittenton Home for Unwed Mothers in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was adopted by two Civil Rights activists, and his family lived in Morocco, Spain, Germany, and various parts of the United States. Malcolm left home as a teenager and, after two years of high school education, went to Stanford, earning a BA in philosophy. He worked for a few years in the software industry in California before setting off for what turned out to be a decade of living, working, and traveling throughout Central America, South America, and Europe. Malcolm returned to the US to complete an MFA in fiction at Columbia. He currently lives in New York City with his wife and two sons.
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; This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by Malcolm Hansen
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Interior design by Michelle Marchese
Jacket design and illustration by gray318
Author photograph by Maja Bergman
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hansen, Malcolm.
Title: They come in all colors : a novel / Malcolm Hansen.
Description: First Atria Books hardcover edition | New York : Atria Books, [2018]
Identifiers: LCCN 2017052461 (print) | LCCN 2018000086 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501172342 (Ebook) | ISBN 9781501172328 (hardback) | ISBN 9781501172335 (trade paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Coming of age—Fiction. | Teenage boy—Fiction. | Racially mixed people—Fiction. | Private schools—New York—Fiction. | Race relations—Southern States—United States—Fiction. | Race relations—Fiction. | Civil rights—Fiction. | Domestic fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Literary. | FICTION / Coming of Age. | FICTION / Cultural Heritage.
Classification: LCC PS3608.A72226 (ebook) | LCC PS3608.A72226 T49 2018 (print) | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017052461
ISBN 978-1-5011-7232-8
ISBN 978-1-5011-7234-2 (ebook)