Kate’s answer to “Is Reese black or white? My book club debated this. If you can provide book quotes of how you figu…” > Likes and Comments
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I have to admit that I was confused as well and it was this exact quote that led to the confusion as I have read many books where "golden brown" refers to a white person who has been in the sun a lot and they are in California at the time. . .
I just finished the book today and never once did I think he was black until I read all of the Q&A on Goodreads and saw some indications that perhaps he was black. I did some additional googling and came upon Michele's question with these answers. All are good points, but I too interpreted golden brown as tanned from California. I like that people interpret it differently.
When Jude and Kennedy are at that party and she insults her, and Jude tells her about her mother, I believe Kennedy implies that Reece is light-skinned black.
I think there are a few lines that may be construed as saying that Reese is black but it's never clear about it. The golden brown skin could mean that he's a light-skinned black but it could just as likely just be because he comes from Arkansas.
I was confused too so searched and ended up here.
I assumed from initial description that Reese was white... but after reading the following, concluded that Reese was in fact 'black',
When Reese asks Jude if she is still thinking about 'that white girl' (referring to Kennedy)
Page 268 - When Kennedy tells Jude: 'Nobody really expects someone like him to be with you, do they?...Your men usually like the light girls, don't they?
'
Page 309 - When Frantz tells Kennedy: 'I knew they weren't your friends... you don't have black friends.'
That part of the novel being set in Los Angeles, at first I thought that the "golden brown and handsome" Reese was simply a tanned caucasian ;-). But then when Frantz refers at him and Jude as Kennedy's "black friends", plural, there was no more room for doubt :-)
The fact that it would matter is sad. It means you can't have understood what the book was about. COLOR SHOULD NOT MATTER.
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Jessica
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Nov 13, 2020 07:34AM
I have to admit that I was confused as well and it was this exact quote that led to the confusion as I have read many books where "golden brown" refers to a white person who has been in the sun a lot and they are in California at the time. . .
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I just finished the book today and never once did I think he was black until I read all of the Q&A on Goodreads and saw some indications that perhaps he was black. I did some additional googling and came upon Michele's question with these answers. All are good points, but I too interpreted golden brown as tanned from California. I like that people interpret it differently.
When Jude and Kennedy are at that party and she insults her, and Jude tells her about her mother, I believe Kennedy implies that Reece is light-skinned black.
I think there are a few lines that may be construed as saying that Reese is black but it's never clear about it. The golden brown skin could mean that he's a light-skinned black but it could just as likely just be because he comes from Arkansas.
I was confused too so searched and ended up here.I assumed from initial description that Reese was white... but after reading the following, concluded that Reese was in fact 'black',
When Reese asks Jude if she is still thinking about 'that white girl' (referring to Kennedy)
Page 268 - When Kennedy tells Jude: 'Nobody really expects someone like him to be with you, do they?...Your men usually like the light girls, don't they?
'
Page 309 - When Frantz tells Kennedy: 'I knew they weren't your friends... you don't have black friends.'
That part of the novel being set in Los Angeles, at first I thought that the "golden brown and handsome" Reese was simply a tanned caucasian ;-). But then when Frantz refers at him and Jude as Kennedy's "black friends", plural, there was no more room for doubt :-)
The fact that it would matter is sad. It means you can't have understood what the book was about. COLOR SHOULD NOT MATTER.
We learn Reese is Black when Kennedy says, “Nobody really expects someone like him to be with you, do they? You know I don’t mean anything by it. I’m just saying. Your men usually like the light girls, don’t they?” By "your men," she means Black men, insinuating they usually like lighter skinned women. Kennedy was trying to be vindictive by pointing this out to Jude, but its the first concrete indication in the book that Reese is Black, too.
