Book Review on Christina Sharpe’s Ordinary Notes

Abstract

This is a brief book review of Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe. Published in April 2023, the text deals with various aspects of Black life, such as memory, trauma, and ongoing racial violence. Being an acclaimed scholar of the Black community, Christina Sharpe shares a surfeit of memories throughout her text, which is why I found this book to be an excellent addition to Black memory studies. The author argues on the functionality of museums and memorials. While many may insist on the necessity of these sites of memory, the author argues that memorial narratives fail to provide ‘reconciliation and healing’. She also asserts how language is usually manipulated by white supremacists, and hence, memory is manipulated as well. Motherhood is also a dominant topic that Sharpe explores in her book.