Black Friend by: Ziwe

Genre: Non-fiction, essays 

Published: October 17, 2023 by: Henry N. Abrams 

Pages: 192 

Rating: 4/5 stars 

CW: anti-Black racism, discussions of police brutality 

In this collection of essays from comedian and host Ziwe, the writer reflects on her years of being a Black woman in the comedy world, as well as looking back on the numerous popular interviews she has conducted on some controversial guests. Ziwe considers how her childhood impacted her career, though this text cannot be categorized as wholly a memoir. Instead, it is a culmination of various essays that ponder the state of the United States and the world, and how comedy attempts to address various issues. 

I wasn't totally familiar with Ziwe's comedy before starting this book. I knew she had conducted a viral interview with disgraced politician and fraud George Santos, but that was pretty much all I knew about her. I figured that this book might give me greater insight into her personal comedic modes and how she goes about choosing interview subjects and questions. This book definitely answered some of the questions I had on Ziwe, while also teaching me a bit more about the comedy world and how comedians deal with current affairs in their writing. 

Ziwe's humour is quite unapologetic, satirical, with tinges of sarcasm throughout. Her book has a lot of footnotes that add greater comedic context to her writing, which I definitely appreciated. I love when authors add comedic footnotes to books, to me I find them so entertaining. That was definitely a huge reason why I stayed engaged throughout all of the essays. I also did really love how most chapters began with a snippet of an interview that Ziwe has given. Most of these interviews are with controversial figures, some of which have been "cancelled" in mainstream media. Ziwe's interviews are always laced with sarcasm, but I find it fascinating how she is able to both learn more about the interview subject and make room for jokes, but not with the intention of simply tearing the subject down. While she may not agree personally with the politics of the subject, the whole interview doesn't seem like just one big roast. Instead, she can put subtle jokes in between questions to allow the subject to reflect on their own behaviour. 

I wasn't so much interested in Ziwe's childhood or personal life, moreso about her career as a comedian. This was mainly just a personal preference; I am not too familiar with her so instead of knowing more about her personally I just wanted to get a sense of her as a comedian. I think this book had a good balance of the personal with the professional, with some inevitable overlap. For example, the title of the book, Black Friend, is both a nod to a popular question Ziwe asks to her subjects: "how many Black friends do you have?, while also being pointed to how Ziwe in her personal life has been tokenized as the "Black friend." She weaves throughout the text anecdotes of being confused with other Black comedians and celebrities simply because ignorant people would group all of the Black women together. Her commentary on American politics and current affairs I thought was sound and appropriate to the time. I do find it interesting to see what comedians think of the state of the world, and if in real life they tend to have more cynical views compared to just wanting to make people laugh all the time. I would say Ziwe thrives off of her comedy, but at the same time, she is not naive to real issues. 

Overall, this was a solid read. I didn't think it really blew me away, but it had a good balance of interview snippets, commentary, and funny footnotes to keep me engaged. I think anyone curious about Ziwe's interviews might like this behind the scenes look at some of her more viral moments. 

Have you read Black Friend? What did you think? 

Emily @ Paperback Princess