Ace of Spades: A Memoir

Product Description  A take-no-prisoners tale of growing up without knowing who you areDavid Matthews was born on the line between races. His mother was white, but she disappeared when he was an infant, leaving him with pale skin and the prospect of a Jewish identity. His father was black, a journalist and activist who counted Malcolm X among his friends. So growing up in the Baltimore ghetto in the 1980s, Matthews had a choice. He took one look at the school lunchroom and chose white. But that choice took on new implications when he came home to a neighborhood where his chosen race was a liability, if not a hazard. In the years that followed, Matthews slipped in and out of identities as the situation demanded, making use of each to get what he needed. He read the culture around him, soaked up its expectations, biases, and passwords, and fashioned a character that could only exist in this generation in America, an exuberant, open-minded, opportunistic young man making up his life and identity on the fly. Review "Channeling the bohemian style of Jack Kerouac, the literary elegance of James Baldwin, and the hip-hop soapbox edge of KRS-One, David Matthews draws out the paradoxes of racial identity in America. . . . A necessary insight."--The Atlanta Journal-Constitution "A memoir with meaning, Ace of Spades is a story of self-deprecation and, ultimately, self-empowerment . . .  His lifelong search and the book come to a conclusion that is wrenching and redemptive."--USA Today "Stylish, astute . . . What Ace of Spades demonstrates so vividly is the conditional nature of racial identity as a lived experience."--The New York Times "Matthews's admirable honesty and mostly fluid writing are enticing--and he doesn't bother with blame or self-pity. . . .  It's a testament to his writing that, despite a tortured life chronicled over 300 pages, we want to know more."--Associated Press "This is a loving portrait of a close relationship between a father and son, one slightly delayed by the fog of race."--Booklist "Matthews writes with candor, anger, and humor about what it means to be all mixed up. Like the best of this genre, Matthews's memoir balances introspection with cultural commentary, using vivid scenes from his life to illustrate the themes of the times."--San Francisco Chronicle About the Author David Matthews is a writer living in New York.
Author: Matthews, David

Publisher: Picador

Binding: Paperback

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0312426313

ISBN-13: 9780312426316