I’ve been a fan of Ziwe’s show for a while and have followed her on social media for years. While I always knew she was funny, her book took my admiration to a whole new level. These essays are not only incredibly humorous but also remarkably thought-provoking. They strike a perfect balance between insightful personal anecdotes and side-splitting observations. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down until I reached the last page.

I thought this was an interesting, sharp collection of essays. I have watched Ziwe's comedy before and that charm is present on that page. I do think some essays land better than others, but overall, a solid read. I thought these essays were thought-provoking, funny, and at times, extremely relatable. My favorite part was getting to read Ziwe's poetry in college--that felt special.

If you're a fan of Ziwe's show, you'll enjoy this read.

While Ziwe is known for her witty humor and her sharp commentary on society, this book will dig a little deeper into her mind and leave you wanting more. She shares her musing about affirmative action to cancel culture to adopting a dog. While not getting to personal, Ziwe's essays are captivating, thought provoking and more than anything hilarious. As one of the new faces in this new wave of comedians, Ziwe's perspective and voice is uniquely her own. The additional footnotes lets the reader go on these tangents with Ziwe and add another level to her essays.

I was introduced to Ziwe in 2020 while she was still doing her Instagram live shows. I thought she was a fun entertainer to watch. And I am so happy I got to watch her grow and learn as an entertainer and gain her own show and now book!

I had so much fun reading her essays, no one knows how to be perfectly introspective as well as entertaining and humorous. My favorite essays include; nobody knows my name, discomfort, cancel culture, cornelia street and my body of work.

The book tackles such important topics that I feel like we as a society like to brush under the rug because they’re not pretty and they make us uncomfortable. Ziwe is here to tell you to think about it, sit with it and process your own internalized racism and then process it again. And then again. And the talk to your friends about it. And then question your internalized sexism! And repeat! But she does this in such an inclusive and campy way that you become addicted! Ziwe my beloved you will ALWAYS be famous!!

Thank you netgalley and ABRAMS for this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!

I’ve watched Ziwe’s show and really enjoyed it, and have followed her on social for a couple years. I knew she was funny, but after this book? I’m fully obsessed. These essays are as thought provoking as they are absolutely hilarious. A perfect balance of really thoughtful personal anecdotes, and really really funny observations. I picked this up, then didn’t put it down till I was done.

I got this for free from NetGalley, but I need this on my bookshelf so now I’m off to go pre-order it.

If you’re not familiar, Ziwe is a comedian who satirizes American culture, racial politics, in particular. I became familiar with her after seeing her legendary IG stories where she asked celebrities “How many Black friends do you have?”

This group of essays was fun, relevant to the current political climate, and to the point! Unfortunately I didn’t have access to the audiobook. But nevertheless her signature sharp voice came through.

This is a mix of pop culture critique, stories from her life, and keen observations on contemporary society. She begins by asking us to lower our expectations on the depth and breadth of her book (the number one selling “Discrimination and Racism” essay collection) and admitting that she doesn’t have all the answers. 

Some of my favorite essays are “nobody knows my name” (the times people mix her up with other Black people), “discomfort” (chidhood stories– having Nigerian immigrant parents + rejecting femininity), “reality television” (observations + her stint on a reality tv show), “affirmative action” (how diversity programs played a role in her life + her poetry from college).

Ziwe had me guffawing with her astute observations, like always, but she also snuck in historical context in accessible ways. My only wish is that she expanded on some essays and that the collection was longer overall.

A solid addition to the celebrity book canon. I think fans of Ziwe will really enjoy this!

Thank you NetGalley and Abrams for the eARC! Black Friend is out October 17.

The thing I loved most about this book is how much I could hear Ziwe. Her voices comes through clear and strong. I think media and her show highlights how funny she is but sometimes her depth is missed. It comes through more in this book. The personal stories were so illuminating. She’s still herself, funny but brutal. This book adds to race conversations in a way and perspective I haven’t yet experienced. I really enjoyed it!

Finished this in less than a day which should come as no surprise because Ziwe really is the voice of a generation. She is witty, blunt and has a way with words that really resonated with me. I'll be buying this book for my personal collection.

spent less time on and learned more from this than my org's 6-hour dei training. literally amazing and less cerebral/more accessible than other culture essay collections. grateful to netgalley for the e-arc - absolutely buying a physical copy

An iconic first book from an iconic new voice. This book offers a delightful few hours in Ziwe’s world, familiar to anyone who has seen her social media content or Showtime television show. It’s insightful, incisive, and laugh-out-loud funny — even as she tackles subjects like racism, misogyny, celebrity, and other social plagues.

A collection of essays by the comedian Ziwe.
These are intended to be humorous/satirical but I feel that she hits more solidly on video or audio.

A deeply funny and insightful collection of essays that will be much appreciated by fans of Ziwe’s previous work, with clever parallels to some of her most *iconic* interviews. While her social media series and Showtime show focused mostly on her guests, along with societal issues, this book finds her turning the focus inward, bringing more of her personal experiences to the forefront. I couldn’t put it down!

Black Friend is an essay collection by the comedian Ziwe. For those who don’t know who Ziwe is, she is a comedian who primarily focuses on issues related to race and makes fun of society’s deeply rooted bigotry through a satirical lens. You can easily look up some clips on social media of her variety show, which was also called Ziwe. Her style of humor is quirky and rubs some people the wrong way, but I think it’s hilarious. I’ve been a big fan of hers for years.

Which is why I’m sorry to say that I didn’t like this book. In fairness to Ziwe, a big part of the reason I didn’t enjoy this is that it’s filled with jokes that she’s already been making for years. I think if you’re familiar with Ziwe’s work you’re not really getting anything new from the essays in Black Friend. This isn’t necessarily a problem on the book’s part. I probably just know an abnormally enormous amount of information about her past jokes lol. I do think it would’ve been better overall if the essays had felt fresher and more unique, but if the reader is someone who is new to Ziwe’s work I’m sure these essays would feel fresh to them.

Another issue I have is that the commentary in Black Friend was shallow. The points it made about racism would only be interesting and new to nonblack people. As a black woman the essays felt like a collection of talking points that we as black women have already covered with people in our lives over and over. And that’s fine in itself. Black women do have to spend our entire lives repeating ourselves over and over on issues related to race, misogyny, and misogynoir, so it’s not weird for her to do that in this book. And maybe these essays were specifically written this way for her nonblack audience to learn from them. But it was tiresome for me personally.

Imposter Syndrome is my favorite essay in this collection and I do think that a lot of Black Friend is pretty funny. It is meant to be a humorous book, so I will give it credit for accomplishing that. I was able to read it very quickly and I enjoyed that as well.

I’m sorry to say this because I LOVE Ziwe, but I don’t recommend this book. You can just go and watch all the episodes of Ziwe on Showtime or watch all the episodes of her old show Baited on YouTube and you’ll get a much better version of what you’d experience if you read this book.

Ziwe rose to fame during the 2020 lockdowns by asking guests on Instagram live one question: "how many black friends do you have?" What often ensued was enlightening, humorous, and sometimes educational conversations between the host and a who's-who of influencers and celebrities. In her debut collection of essays, Ziwe's signature tone is on full display in her debut collection as she crafts expertly worded observations about culture and race. Excited to revisit this, particularly as an audiobook to hear exactly how it was intended by the iconic author herself.

I initially requested this book because of the title and the description; however, I should’ve paid attention to the author. The book felt like a bunch of confused gatherings rather than a fluid story to match the chapter title. I did a quick search of the author and realized that this matched her interviews which I also didn’t enjoy.

DNF at 15%

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I think while Ziwe clearly has a voice, I’m not sure why this book needed to exist other than a way to solidify her celebrity. I couldn’t get past the first two chapters because I found it all a bit too exhausting. Maybe a great pick for superfans but it wasn’t for me.

This is Ziwe's (of the Showtime show Ziwe fame) memoir told in very funny and compelling personal essays. I absolutely loved how much her voice came through in these essays - I laughed out loud multiple times.

The essays ranged from pop-culture to personal identity to everything in between. I had a lot of fun reading this!

BLACK FRIEND is like getting the chance to have a glass of wine with Ziwe over happy hour, hearing her take on pop culture and racism and just being genuinely hilarious. Everyone's dream, right? I was thrilled to get an early copy of her forthcoming book of essays. I've been a fan of her comedy for years, and I knew that her critique of of culture was going to be pointed, deliciously satirical, and honestly analytical. I read it in a full Sunday afternoon because i couldn't put it down, and because I had so much fun reading it. Can't give it a better rec than that!

I absolutely love Ziwe, so when I saw she was writing a book, I wanted to read it ASAP. I'm so glad I did, this book is essential for EVERYONE to read and to own. I will definitely make sure this gets put into circulation at my library!

I truly loved every word in this book and immediately pre-ordered so that I can forever refer back to it.

Ziwe is incredible, but we knew that before reading her collection of essays titled, Black Friend. She brings a fresh, incisive, perfectly snarky, and astute perspective on contemporary topics that we as a society say we examine critically but very often fail to grapple with in meaningful ways. Relevance, racism, and reality tv skim the surface of Ziwe’s ponderings within her latest work. I thoroughly enjoyed mulling over every thought she captured and routinely asked my boyfriend to listen while I read passages aloud.

Lines like:

“It’s Barbie packaging but when you bite into the sandwich, it’s barbed wire.” Or, “Personally, I long to be a canceled rich man because that is just a vacation,” are some of the many brilliant soundbites Ziwe inserts in her essays, and which reverberate throughout this book.

Another quote because IT IS IMPORTANT re: western society’s approach to cancel culture and more specifically, confronting racism:
“Blaming individuals is fun, deconstructing centuries of oppression requires so much boring reading. One tactic is like getting stitches, and the other is like getting a transplant of every vital organ—even if the face is the same, it is a totally different person.

I couldn’t sing praises for Ziwe’s work any louder, albeit off-key.

Aside from using the word “irregardless” once, I have no notes for Ziwe’s arresting, satirical delivery of insights. Thank you to netgalley and ABRAMS for the ARC!!