This is an interesting and complex novel which tackles the difficult and timely topics of inequalities in American society in a story that is well paced and never comes over as being 'preachy' or letting the issues get in the way of the story itself.
The story opens with Emira, a young black woman, being accused of having kidnapped the white child she is babysitting. Whilst this event and its aftermath frame the story, they aren't really the focus of it in the way I expected from the blurb. Emira's employer is Alix, an affluent white woman who misses her New York lifestyle and beneath her polished exterior is a mass of insecurities. Alix is desperate to be Emira's friend, something the young woman doesn't particularly reciprocate. Throw into that mix a figure from Alix's past that she had hoped never to see again, and its not hard to see that things are unlikely to end well.
It is a story about race, in some ways, but maybe less so than the first few chapters would suggest. I would say it's more a story about class, as rather than simply pigeon holing the characters by colour it goes into the nuances between social groups of all kinds. For example Alix tries to hide the fact she has moved out of New York (to Philadelphia, so not exactly the sticks) as it doesn't suit her online image, and looks down on her husband's colleague simply because she is nice. Alix's high flying black friend Tamra is contrasted with the quiet, directionless Emira - yet there is still an implication that these two women should somehow be paired together based on their skin colour despite not appearing to have much if anything else in common.
I felt sorry for Emira, who loved her job as a babysitter and her relationship with the (hilariously written) three-year-old Briar. She was constantly being told she had to do better and do more, but what is wrong with enjoying a career as a caregiver? It might not be great money and her qualifications might have enabled her to do more, but she liked the work. People applaud city high-fliers who decide to opt for a quieter life in a lower paid career they enjoy - so why not extend the same respect to someone who has found a job they like straight off? About the only thing that seemed to unite all of the disparate characters was their consensus that there is something inherently lowly about childcare and it should be seen as a stopgap rather than an actual rewarding (and highly skilled) profession. In fact, everyone in Emira's life seemed to think they had the right to interfere in and dictate to her about every element of it. No wonder she seemed so passive - she was probably worn down by the constant browbeating. So many times I wanted all of them - regardless of skin colour, relationship to her, or how good their intentions - to just shut up and let her live her own life.
The storyline takes a rather unexpected turn and in many ways becomes more about the repercussions of the difficult history between Alix and her ex-boyfriend, than about Emira - who of course ends up as collateral damage. I'm not sure if that is supposed to be allegorical - the black woman left disadvantaged by two white adults who can't let go of something that happened decades ago. The characters are complex and it would be interesting to discuss them with someone else who had read the book. It would be a great book group read - so much to get your teeth into. I suspect it is one of those books that different people will have very different opinions about.
Even now I find it hard to say exactly how I felt about the certain characters, whom I sympathised with and hated at different points. Whereas Emira herself is likeable, she doesn't feel fleshed out enough to be truly loveable, which is a shame as I think if she was that would elevate the book from good to great. The book becomes too much about its dominating supporting characters and not enough about the young woman at the centre. Again, that may be intentional by Reid to make a point, but perhaps she does it a bit too effectively.
Overall it is a thought provoking and interesting read and I can see why it has achieved such critical acclaim. I found it frustrating in many ways, and perhaps was meant to, and that's why it gets the four star rating. I liked it and admired it more than loved it, but it's definitely a good read and as I say, would be ideal for a book club.
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'The Book of the Year' - Independent |
'Couldn't put this down' - Jojo Moyes |
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A refreshing debut novel that explores privilege, racial biases and millennial anxiety.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 June 2020
It follows the lives of Emira Tucker and Alix Chamberlain. Emira is a 25-year-old black woman from Sewell Bridge, Maryland. She works part-time as a babysitter and a typist, but is struggling to find her place in the world. She often feels like every aspect of her life is moving forward without her, and lives with the everyday anxiety that many millennials endure.Alix is 30-something white woman from Allentown, Pennsylvania. Alix starts in New York City as a blogger and influencer, before moving to Philadelphia for her husband’s new job and hiring Emira as a babysitter to her 3-year-old daughter, Briar.We also meet Kelley Copeland, a white man who is present when Emira is accused of kidnapping Brair at the local grocery store. He films the exchange between the security guard and Emira, before emailing the footage to Emira and deleting it from his phone.After an incident in a grocery store, Alix become obsessed with making things right and equal with Emira. She wants justice, and overcompensates in trying to make her babysitter feel comfortable. She worries about coming across as a textbook white woman, to the extent of spending large amounts of her day wondering what Emira is doing or thinking. She becomes obsessed with Emira seeing the person beneath the privilege.It became obvious from the beginning that both Alix and Kelley suffer from the white saviour complex. They both exhibit the behaviours of a white person who goes out of their way to help non-white people, but with the wrong motive. Both the characters constantly try to make decisions and share what they think is best for Emira, for self-serving reasons. It’s very much like celebrities who travel to underprivileged countries and snap photos with the locals to promote a more charitable image. The characters used their relationship with Emira to prove to themselves that they were just and upright people.Alix was constantly reminding herself she was doing the right thing. At first, she seems well-intentioned but that quickly changed as more of her lunatic behaviour began to bleed through. Kelley surrounded himself with black people, only dated back women, and was almost over-supportive of that community. He clearly felt like that covered him from ever feeling like he was discriminatory.Alix and Kelley seemed to compete with each other to see who could be the biggest ally to the black girl, or to see who was the most unprejudiced. Reading about their constant attempts to be impartial was exhausting, yet painfully realistic. The author’s intention was to highlight some of the racial prejudices and micro-aggressive behaviours that don’t make the news every day, and she did just that.My favourite think about the novel was the light and easy writing, despite the book’s heavy themes. The characters in the novel are well-developed and skilfully used to move the narrative along while teaching the reader an important lessons on racial biases and stereotypes. The background and conversation between the characters fleshes out their personalities, which makes the book all the more compelling. The characters felt like real people, which is why it was so easy for me to relate to Emira as a 20-something black woman.I absolutely loved the relationship between Briar and Emira. She may have only babysat for 21 hours a week, but for those 21 hours, Briar got to matter to someone. She’s an intelligent, observant and charming little girl, and her incessant babbling never failed to make me laugh. Briar’s parents may have not appreciated her adorable personality, but there’s no doubt that Emira did.I wasn’t a fan of the ending. Just as I felt like the plot was becoming more and more exciting, the payoff was underwhelming. It felt like the story had been cut short. I would have liked a chapter or more to be dedicated to Emira’s development after the main events in the book. Everything that happened directly affected her life, and it would have been nice to see her mature from her experiences.Overall, Such a Fun Age is the perfect book to construct diverse and interesting conversation. Its thought-provoking story, realistic themes and straightforward writing makes this debut an gratifying and compelling read.Anika | chaptersofmay.com
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 June 2020
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