Such A Good Read

Before I dive back into Kitch Lit, allow me to take a moment to implore you to read Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age. Reid’s debut novel centers on two women: Emira and Alix. Emira is a young black woman struggling to make ends meet and closing the gap by babysitting for an affluent white family. Alix is the matriarch of said family. Unbeknownst to the two of them, the women share a connection that threatens both their professional and personal relationships.

Such a Fun Age opens with Emira and toddler Briar at the grocery store late at night – at the request of Briar’s parents who request Emira take Briar while they talk to the police about vandalism at their home. A fellow shopper suspects Briar may have been taken against her will and alerts store security. Another shopper films the interaction between Emira and the security guard until Briar’s father rushes to the store to resolve the situation. Emira is ready to quickly move on from the encounter, but the incident in the grocery store was simply the rock breaking the surface of the water. The ripples will continue to disrupt the calmness of the water for a long time to come.

Reid beautifully develops each character and grants them a level of attention such that, though we glimpse only a small period of time in their lives, it is impossible not to genuinely care for every one of them. Emira feels a sense of shame that, as a 26 year-old college graduate, she is babysitting, but at the same time, she loves caring for Briar. Briar is experiencing the world for the first time and Emira gets to shape Briar’s worldview and experience those firsts all over again. Briar has no preconceived notions of race or privilege. Briar speaks the language of love and only knows the sincere care Emira shows her. Alix, on the other hand, has grown up in a post-Civil Rights America, a witness to the progress and aware of the work yet to be done. Alix soon makes it her mission to develop a stronger bond with Emira. Working on bringing Emira closer, Alix invites Emira and her boyfriend to Thanksgiving at their house, and it is at that meal that the unknown connection between the two of them is revealed.

There are countless ways to address race and class in America through contemporary fiction. Reid’s microcosm of the contemporary black female experience may be just one example, but it is illustrative of a multitude of experiences. Such a Fun Age is wholly contemporary. It is a novel born of the age of social media, privilege, economic divides and the Black Lives Matter movement. At the same time, Such a Fun Age touches on realities that have been present in American society since the beginning. Such a Fun Age is a highly enjoyable read. I am forever thankful that the book was released in the winter instead of in the summer, for I fear it would have ended up in the "beach reads" section. Because don’t be fooled, Reid’s sharp wit and perfect plotting might make it feel like a breezy read, but Such a Fun Age is one of the smartest, most thought-provoking novels to come along in quite a while.