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biancaaabrown's reviews
21 reviews
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
3.0
[a:Zakiya Dalila Harris|20050406|Zakiya Dalila Harris|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1649855065p2/20050406.jpg] wrote a novel set in modern day New York City about a young woman named Nella, who works in publishing. She is the only black girl in the office and is very aware of this. That is until a new girl joins, an other black girl and things take a sinister turn.
The book is described as a thriller on some of the cover reviews and I guess technically it is... but I wouldn't say I was particularly thrilled at any points. To me it is majority literary fiction, and turns slowly into a psychological drama at the end? I don't even know if this is accurate.
Points of the novel feel like it's intended audience is black cis femmes. But the intention at times is overpowering. The idea of the universal black experience feels shoved down your throat while reading, often at the same time as paiting black as so... other. This isn't always wrong. This style breeds familiarity in the book. In a way I can see how, if handle masterfully, this might have effectively served the plot. To set you up for the "twist" of an ending but I don't think it worked very well in that way. It may be a personal distaste however, since at times I am not seeking to really see myself in a novel. I may have even enjoyed the twist so much more were I not so eased into it by hopefully understanding Nella so well.
The style of the book is very lit-fic. Third-person perspective but very much in the mind of Nella, so much so that when other characters have their perspectives dominating I struggle to see their characterisation and thus differentiate. I really loved KRP's perspective chapters though! There is a sense of time throughout the novel, although loose. The dates at the beginnings of chapters are helpful but I found myself having to re-refer to them. Not at all a crime.
Hazel is an interesting character. I think that she is almost perfectly crafted to play the role that she does. She is introduced with just the right amount of mystery, induces just the right amount of frustration in Nella and myself as a reader. She is a great highlight of the book. I find her character's denouement to be disappointing considering this. KRP is also a really compelling formulation as contrast to her younger counterparts - although towards the end when the convergence of the stories begin to become clearer, these compelling characters all muddy together in a way that dulls their shine. The character of Shani feels less important than she was made out to be, unless I was missing something while reading. Often while reading I felt as though I was missing something... a lot of the wrong things to be missing outside of the mystery, if this makes sense.
Overall I did like the book. Or rather the idea of the book. I think the sensationalisation of The Other Black Girl can lean it's way into genius. It offers a very fascinating take, that feels tongue-in-cheek and satirical. Handled more adeptly I think this could have been one of my favourite books in a long time. I would like to see how Harris may have rewritten this book from a much more jaded position. A much more cynical tone that potentially threads itself through a tiny bit more apparently from start to finish. I think of the introspection on blackness as the book progresses to be reaching for notes from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah, although not centering on the diasporic experience. There are interesting sentiments shared on the middle-class black experience that I think are not explored as pertinently to the plot as they could have been.
Despite how it may seem in this review I would recommend you read this book. In a way it is inspirational. I wouldn't say I would reach for it again to teach me how to handle a sinister twist, or to show me very clearly how to feel about the nuances of black femininity but I also don't think that this is the book's sole purpose. However, for a look into the life of an "ordinary" black girl, and the suspicious edge that does indeed always exist even in her ordinary life, this is the book I would reach for.
[bc:The Other Black Girl|61212910|The Other Black Girl|Zakiya Dalila Harris|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654186113l/61212910._SY75_.jpg|76204922]
The book is described as a thriller on some of the cover reviews and I guess technically it is... but I wouldn't say I was particularly thrilled at any points. To me it is majority literary fiction, and turns slowly into a psychological drama at the end? I don't even know if this is accurate.
Points of the novel feel like it's intended audience is black cis femmes. But the intention at times is overpowering. The idea of the universal black experience feels shoved down your throat while reading, often at the same time as paiting black as so... other. This isn't always wrong. This style breeds familiarity in the book. In a way I can see how, if handle masterfully, this might have effectively served the plot. To set you up for the "twist" of an ending but I don't think it worked very well in that way. It may be a personal distaste however, since at times I am not seeking to really see myself in a novel. I may have even enjoyed the twist so much more were I not so eased into it by hopefully understanding Nella so well.
The style of the book is very lit-fic. Third-person perspective but very much in the mind of Nella, so much so that when other characters have their perspectives dominating I struggle to see their characterisation and thus differentiate. I really loved KRP's perspective chapters though! There is a sense of time throughout the novel, although loose. The dates at the beginnings of chapters are helpful but I found myself having to re-refer to them. Not at all a crime.
Hazel is an interesting character. I think that she is almost perfectly crafted to play the role that she does. She is introduced with just the right amount of mystery, induces just the right amount of frustration in Nella and myself as a reader. She is a great highlight of the book. I find her character's denouement to be disappointing considering this. KRP is also a really compelling formulation as contrast to her younger counterparts - although towards the end when the convergence of the stories begin to become clearer, these compelling characters all muddy together in a way that dulls their shine. The character of Shani feels less important than she was made out to be, unless I was missing something while reading. Often while reading I felt as though I was missing something... a lot of the wrong things to be missing outside of the mystery, if this makes sense.
Overall I did like the book. Or rather the idea of the book. I think the sensationalisation of The Other Black Girl can lean it's way into genius. It offers a very fascinating take, that feels tongue-in-cheek and satirical. Handled more adeptly I think this could have been one of my favourite books in a long time. I would like to see how Harris may have rewritten this book from a much more jaded position. A much more cynical tone that potentially threads itself through a tiny bit more apparently from start to finish. I think of the introspection on blackness as the book progresses to be reaching for notes from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah, although not centering on the diasporic experience. There are interesting sentiments shared on the middle-class black experience that I think are not explored as pertinently to the plot as they could have been.
Despite how it may seem in this review I would recommend you read this book. In a way it is inspirational. I wouldn't say I would reach for it again to teach me how to handle a sinister twist, or to show me very clearly how to feel about the nuances of black femininity but I also don't think that this is the book's sole purpose. However, for a look into the life of an "ordinary" black girl, and the suspicious edge that does indeed always exist even in her ordinary life, this is the book I would reach for.
[bc:The Other Black Girl|61212910|The Other Black Girl|Zakiya Dalila Harris|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654186113l/61212910._SY75_.jpg|76204922]
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0