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A review by missapples
Plum Bun: A Novel Without a Moral by Jessi Redmon Fauset
4.0
A young African-American woman moves to New York in the 1920s with two goals on her mind. First, she wants to become a celebrated artist. She is a self-described "nobody" but she is talented, ambitious and willing to work hard. Her second goal is to live the kind of life that is available to white people only. She looks white enough to "pass" for one so she does. She gets an apartment in the Village, enrolls in Art classes, alters her name to make is sound more exotic and promptly meets a very eligible bachelor. None of her new friends knows that she is black. Things seem to be going well, until she realizes that not everything in her new life is what it seems.
I enjoyed this book although I wouldn't place it on the same level as "Passing" by Nella Larsen, a novel that explores similar subject. I was frustrated with some unrealistic twists and turns that made the story seem at times melodramatic and a bit soap-ey. I also really, really wished the author hadn't taken the route of creating a woman whose life revolves around her relationships with men (the guy she ended up with was a complete joke, by the way). I got excited when for a minute there she was dating one of them to further her dreams of becoming rich and important - finally, acting like a real human being! Alas, that didn't last. So, here is an ambitious, smart and plucky woman, who wants to become a serious artist yet most of the book is focused on the men she meets and loses and finds again! It almost redeems itself at the very end, when she finally gets an important career break only to plunge into the "happily-ever-after" waters in the final pages.
I would still recommend it as it gives a glimpse of New York in 1920s. At the very height of Harlem Renaissance the city was incredibly fascinating.
I enjoyed this book although I wouldn't place it on the same level as "Passing" by Nella Larsen, a novel that explores similar subject. I was frustrated with some unrealistic twists and turns that made the story seem at times melodramatic and a bit soap-ey. I also really, really wished the author hadn't taken the route of creating a woman whose life revolves around her relationships with men (the guy she ended up with was a complete joke, by the way). I got excited when for a minute there she was dating one of them to further her dreams of becoming rich and important - finally, acting like a real human being! Alas, that didn't last. So, here is an ambitious, smart and plucky woman, who wants to become a serious artist yet most of the book is focused on the men she meets and loses and finds again! It almost redeems itself at the very end, when she finally gets an important career break only to plunge into the "happily-ever-after" waters in the final pages.
I would still recommend it as it gives a glimpse of New York in 1920s. At the very height of Harlem Renaissance the city was incredibly fascinating.