This is not a politically correct novel at all. Chavisa Woods appears to draw on her own background in rural Illinois with a highly religious family in which she did not fit as a goth/punk lesbian. Thus, many of her characters have a similarly conservative background, which would likely include the uncles: ” ‘I met myself a Jew. First Jew I ever met. Well, that I know of. He had one of those Yammahaws. Guess I wouldn’t have known he was a Jew if he didn’t have that thing on his head.’ ” Although in general what the uncle says is offensive, he also comes from a homogeneous place where he wouldn’t encounter people unlike himself. Rather than pronouncing “Idrissa,” the uncles simply call him “Africa” — and Idrissa is thankful they don’t call him “Mali” (like Molly), his home country. Honestly, I was comfortable with rude characters because such people exist around us, and if we don’t hear them out, we can’t share our stories with them, either.

Check out my full review at https://grabthelapels.com/2021/05/04/the-albino-album/