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whatmaddyreadnext 's review for:
The Housemate
by Sarah Bailey
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An engaging thriller set in Melbourne that will keep you on your toes... But I had an issue with the diversity in the book which is unfortunately a spoiler, so that is all I can say without revealing the plot, and I couldn’t feel the same about the book after that.
I have really enjoyed Bailey’s past work and expected to really enjoy this one but all the clever mechanics of their plotting were overshadowed by my issue with diversity.
*SPOILERS, AVERT YOUR EYES*
I was really disappointed to see that Cooper Ng, one of the few culturally and linguistically diverse characters in the book and my favourite character, was killed off towards the end. He was a key character, a young Asian Australian journalist who started the podcast and he was a charming chatterbox who discovered the truth before the protagonist did. His death was used to prod vengeance in the straight white female lead. This perpetuates an all too common occurrence in literature, film and television where people of colour are killed off at proportionately higher rates than white people, despite not experiencing as much representation.
It felt like Cooper had so much potential as a character in this book and it was wasted. I assumed I might see him in a sequel because he felt so permanent. Some may argue that, that’s the point - the author killed off the character to show the dangerous stakes of their investigation and shock the audience. To which I ask them, but could that not be done in some other way? Did one of the few culturally and linguistically diverse characters in the book really only exist to challenge the protagonist with his youth and new ways of thinking about journalism and then in death, serve as a plot twist to shock the readers and fuel to motivate the protagonist to find the answers? Is that what we’re calling representation?
I was really disappointed to see that Cooper Ng, one of the few culturally and linguistically diverse characters in the book and my favourite character, was killed off towards the end. He was a key character, a young Asian Australian journalist who started the podcast and he was a charming chatterbox who discovered the truth before the protagonist did. His death was used to prod vengeance in the straight white female lead. This perpetuates an all too common occurrence in literature, film and television where people of colour are killed off at proportionately higher rates than white people, despite not experiencing as much representation.
It felt like Cooper had so much potential as a character in this book and it was wasted. I assumed I might see him in a sequel because he felt so permanent. Some may argue that, that’s the point - the author killed off the character to show the dangerous stakes of their investigation and shock the audience. To which I ask them, but could that not be done in some other way? Did one of the few culturally and linguistically diverse characters in the book really only exist to challenge the protagonist with his youth and new ways of thinking about journalism and then in death, serve as a plot twist to shock the readers and fuel to motivate the protagonist to find the answers? Is that what we’re calling representation?