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niaforrester 's review for:
Visible Empire
by Hannah Pittard
A beautifully written, hard-to-classify book, about a moment in time in Atlanta when the city suffered an unspeakable loss.
It is 1962, and things are changing socially, culturally, and politically, and then, thousands of miles away in Paris, a plane falls from the sky. The connection between this tragedy and the lives of several disparate but interconnected people, white and Black, wealthy and poor is explored in this slice-of-life story. Hannah Pittard has a unique voice that reminds me of William Makepeace Thackeray, but with a modern flair. It’s a mix of satire and dead-serious that’s hard to define or pigeonhole. But I liked it; I liked it a lot.
There were also some stunningly insightful moments, like when the author got into the head of Peidmont, a young Black man who has his hope that he is destined for great things dampened. Pittard’s descriptions of how he views race and race relations were astute for someone who (forgive me for saying this) is about as far removed from a young Black man in a segregated world as a hippo is from a gazelle. I respect this author’s skill, but also her empathy in her portrayal of this character.
Similarly, she portrayed an aging lesbian suddenly in fear of being deprived of her financial security, a n’er do well playboy, an errant husband and a beautiful young wannabe actress with just as much care. Hannah Pittard is not a writer who was on my radar but she is now. Highly recommended for lovers of literary fiction.
It is 1962, and things are changing socially, culturally, and politically, and then, thousands of miles away in Paris, a plane falls from the sky. The connection between this tragedy and the lives of several disparate but interconnected people, white and Black, wealthy and poor is explored in this slice-of-life story. Hannah Pittard has a unique voice that reminds me of William Makepeace Thackeray, but with a modern flair. It’s a mix of satire and dead-serious that’s hard to define or pigeonhole. But I liked it; I liked it a lot.
There were also some stunningly insightful moments, like when the author got into the head of Peidmont, a young Black man who has his hope that he is destined for great things dampened. Pittard’s descriptions of how he views race and race relations were astute for someone who (forgive me for saying this) is about as far removed from a young Black man in a segregated world as a hippo is from a gazelle. I respect this author’s skill, but also her empathy in her portrayal of this character.
Similarly, she portrayed an aging lesbian suddenly in fear of being deprived of her financial security, a n’er do well playboy, an errant husband and a beautiful young wannabe actress with just as much care. Hannah Pittard is not a writer who was on my radar but she is now. Highly recommended for lovers of literary fiction.