The Color of Water

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Book cover
Book cover

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother is the autobiography of James McBride; it is also a memoir for his mother. The chapters alternate between James McBride's descriptions of his early life, and first-person accounts of his mother's life, mostly before James McBride was born. The novel depicts the conflicting emotions that James endures as he struggles to discover who he truly is, as his mother narrates the hardships that she had to overcome to educate her children. The novel also depicts the emotional struggle James has with uncovering his true identity only through discovering his mother's past.

James McBride grew up as one in a family of 12 siblings, a black father and a mother whose past was a mystery until he went out and discovered it.

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