On Closure and Crime

By Elizabeth Chakrabarty

"Twice in my life, when I've least expected it — relaxed in a bar with acquaintances, a glass of wine in my hand — someone has asked me this question: When did you realise you're not white?' ..."— Elizabeth Chakrabarty, author of Lessons in Love and Other CrimesElizabeth Chakrabarty's 'On Crime and Closure' is part of The Indigo Press's short-form Indigo Express series — short essays and fiction commissioned in companion with, and in celebration of, our authors' books. Find out more on www.theindigopress.com/exclusive-writing/

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Indigo Press
• Release date: Jun 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781911648390

Book preview

Twice in my life, when I’ve least expected it – relaxed in a bar with acquaintances, a glass of wine in my hand – someone has asked me this question: ‘When did you realize you’re not white?’ Some of you will have experienced this too, and reading it, experiencing it again, will have set your heart beating fast. Other readers will have asked that question of someone like us, without thought, or perhaps others still will have guessed exactly how it might feel, and said it to put us in our place: subordinate to them. I hope most readers will understand, or come to understand, why that is one of the worst questions to ask another human being, if you want them to