Loving Day (novel)

Loving Day is a 2015 novel by Mat Johnson, published by Spiegel & Grau on May 26, 2015.

Johnson described the book as "my coming out as a mulatto" and Baz Dreisinger of The New York Times described Loving Day as "a semi-autobiographical" "extended literary metaphor about race and mixed-race in America."[1]

The novel's title refers to Loving Day, when the U.S. Supreme Court nullified bans on interracial marriage.[2]

Plot

The novel, set in the Germantown section of Philadelphia,[3] is about Warren Duffy, a comic book artist who received a mansion from his deceased father, an Irish-American. Duffy's mother, who was black, had died long ago.[2] Warren had been in a marriage with a Welsh woman and managed a comic book shop in Cardiff, Wales; the marriage ended in divorce and the shop had closed, so Warren is back in Philadelphia.[4]

He reunites with his daughter, Tal,[1] who was conceived after a romance he had in his teenage years. Tal, raised as a White girl,[4] had been in the care of her Jewish grandfather.[2] Warren is unaware of Tal's existence until he meets her during the course of the novel.[3]

Warren enrolls Tal in the Mélange Center, an organization for mixed-race people. He dates Sunita "Sun" Habersham, a comic book aficionado who is a member of the center.[3] As the novel progresses Warren finds his views on race challenged and questioned.[2]

Academic reception

Bucknell University chose it for the first year common reading for the Class of 2020.[5]

References
  1. Dreisinger, Baz. "‘Loving Day,’ by Mat Johnson" (Archive). The New York Times. June 7, 2015. Retrieved on March 2, 2016.
  2. Michaud, Jon. "Book Review: A gently funny exploration of biracial identity" (Archive). Washington Post. June 11, 2015. Retrieved on March 2, 2016.
  3. Nereim, Michele. "Burnin’ It Down: A Q&A with Mat Johnson " (Archive). Brazos Bookstore. Retrieved on March 2, 2016.
  4. "Loving Day." Mat Johnson Official Website. Retrieved on March 2, 2016.
  5. "First Year Common Reading". Bucknell University. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
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