Book Review: Such A Fun Age
Originally published July 7, 2020
Hi everyone! While I've been reading a handful of books since quarantine, I haven't exactly been writing up my thoughts. This has been a strange time to be alive, to say the least, and I've been trying to use my free time to read some Anti-Racist literature, learn, protest, and listen.
I have had the privilege of stepping back and stepping away from things that I've learned throughout my life--I grew up in New York, saw the inequities of NYC and NYPD social systems first hand. Even in my self proclaimed "social justice" high school, where the administration allowed Black Lives Matter protests, I thought that I was progressive "enough", that my awareness and occasional walkout, occasional conversation about mass incarceration was "enough" despite ignoring the lack of systemic change within administrations that claims to be "woke". All that is to say, I've been complacent because I've had the privilege to be, despite my knowledge of the systems in place. So. I am working to be better and to create long-term activism goals. Meanwhile, in the interest of uplifting Black voices, I thought I would offer a quick review of one of my favorite reads of the past few years.
Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid investigates the insidiousness of racism, white privilege, and class, telling the story of Alix Chamberlain, a white, wealthy feminist-influencer-type, and Emira Tucker, a Black woman who babysits Alix’s child, in the wake of a racial profiling incident. We meet Emira as she rushes from a friend's birthday party to take Briar, Alix's daughter for a walk after their house has been vandalized. Emira takes Briar to a grocery store to amuse her, and as they goof around in the aisles, a security guard approaches, asking her who Briar is, and why Emira is out with a (white) child so late at night. Tensions escalate, and a white bystander, Kelley, films the heated conversation until Briar's father arrives at the store to confirm that Emira is not, in fact, a kidnapper. Kelley emails the video to Emira, promising to remove it from his phone and Emira files the incident as another uncomfortable experience in a white neighborhood. Alix's stomach begins to churn with white guilt, and fearing that Emira might quit, she gives her a raise and sets out to create a more "friendly" work relationship. Reid’s characterization is the crown jewel of her novel. She navigates racial privilege, age difference, and socioeconomic class by presenting two complex women experiencing class, wealth, and race in violently different ways. Their relationship becomes even more twisted when Kelley begins dating Emira, and Alix begins to violate Emira's privacy to learn more about their relationship.
Such A Fun Age is skillfully written, and it had me drinking caffeine at a ripe 8 PM so that I could stay up to finish the last half of the book. Original, suspenseful, descriptive, and elegant...I really have nothing bad to say about this book. Although I read it a long while ago now, I remember being struck by the empathy that Ms. Reid used to write her characters. The depth of Alix and Emira’s characters allowed me to feel both disgust and empathy as I watched the dynamic between the two of them become more and more toxic. Such A Fun Age comments on the complexities of living in the intersections of white privilege, womanhood, and love. Reid’s novel was engaging until the last word on the page, and I highly recommend picking it up.
Here are some Black-owned bookstores where you can order this title:
Loyalty Bookstores (D.C)
Semicolonchi (Chicago)
Uncle Bobbies (Philly)
Books and Crannies (Virginia)
Also:
Here is a link to some places to donate your funds to Black artists.
Happy reading, happy learning.
x.
O
