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41 reviews

Tart, as usual, has an impeccable attention to detail and a stunning control over the English language. Her diction is exacting, vivid, and at times spellbinding- as with The Secret History, Tart excels when she is delving into the convoluted psyche of her morally gray characters. I loved Harriet more than I’ve loved a protagonist in a while. I found her precocious, witty, and just absurd enough to be plausible. The plot, which is a bit harebrained, is entirely contingent on the type of insane decisions that a child genius would make. (As a formerly gifted child reared in the south, I understood Harriet’s rage at the indignity of childhood all too well). This novel is cleverly written and has some truly stunning moments of prose. I was genuinely moved by the impact that Robin’s murder had on the family, and thought that the ugly scar of grief was (mostly) depicted honestly.

That being said, the novel has a lot of glaring issues. For one: there are a million (oftentimes unnecessary) PoVs and somehow NONE of them include any Black characters, though Southern racism is recurrent throughout the book and several instances of anti-Black violence are positioned as key moments in Harriet’s character development. We witness detailed and storied instances of racism through Harriet’s indignant eyes, but we never feel the embodied effects of that racism or explore its consequences much further than a single conversation. I’d argue that this qualifies Harriet as falling into a white savior trope. Tart delves into the minds of dozens of white characters, but can’t find the time to show us a Black perspective? I think it’s odd and telling that she clearly wants to address racism, bur doesn’t go much deeper than the surface (aka “racism is bad” but she doesn’t tell us why or give us any solution. Maybe that’s a tall order to ask of a little white girl in Mississippi. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that a writer of Tart’s rigor and verve could tackle the challenges her own story presents. Her writing is sympathetic, but ultimately gutless on this issue).

Secondly, the plot’s resolution was unsatisfying. I felt that the thread of Robin’s murder and the family’s subsequent grief was lost near the end of the novel. There seemed to be a lot of set up with very little pay off, which left me feeling let down by the final page. Also, I was annoyed by Harriet’s lack of real consequences. Don’t confuse that for punishment. I’m not a reader who looks for a morally satisfying tale. I do, however, want the characters to have to live with the weight of their actions. Harriet committed several shocking acts of violence that were then revealed to be “not that bad” and therefore had no lasting impact. I thought that was lame. Let the child be a murderer Donna!!

Lastly, this book just needed a better edit (in my non-professional, not yet degreed opinion). There were several looooong scenes (and sometimes chapters) that didn’t service the plot and didn’t lead to any meaningful character development. A certain amount of dressing is to be expected of a southern gothic, but this was a little much. Also, Tart tried to make every single character have backstory, context, nuance. It was interesting, but ultimately distracting. I kept wondering why I needed to get to know a character so well when they didn’t play a major role in the plot (looking at you, Allison). This book didn’t need to be that long and dragged at some points.

My favorite chapter by far was The Red Gloves. I’ll definitely be returning to that segment as a stellar example of craft mastery. Overall, this novel was both good and bad, for a lot of complicated reasons. The fact that I wrote this long-winded review means that it’s probably worth reading, especially if you love a good mystery and some old school local color fiction.

(also: wtf is up with Tart using racially comparative language? Like why are there so many metaphorical allusions to the Chinese in a book that doesn’t involve a single Chinese person? It’s weird AF and makes me feel uncomfy. Very Plath-esque).

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed this book. What is there to enjoy about the suffering of others? This is a heart wrenching read about the devastating effects of white beauty standards (and by extension white supremacy) on little Black girls. I have known Pecolas and watched the world break them. I have seen how this country is especially cruel to dark skinned children. I have seen how our community abandons those we deem to be untouchable, and I’m complicit in this collective amnesia. This is an allegorical tale meant to prove a point, and Morrison proves it well. The charge is clear. The consequences are catastrophic.

The sexual violence felt gratuitous and disgusted me. I suppose that was the point, but I’d still wager that the same story could have been told (with the same emotional impact) without some strange scene asking us to step into the mind of a man who would rape his own child. I’d say the same thing about the false prophet. Morrison does love to deal in the taboo and analyze evil, however, so I do recognize the intent and purpose. It just makes me deeply sad and disturbed that so many of our Black classics include such graphic depictions of abuse and so little of joy or love. Like The Color Purple, this is a book I would be hard pressed to read again. For me, the story reopened some old wounds that I’d rather let heal.

Attrib. and Other Stories by Eley Williams

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funny informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

As much as I love a good jeux des mots, I could NOT get into this book. It’s a light read and pretty easy to breeze through. I liked two stories alright, and was pretty bored for the rest. I listened to the author read one story from this collection on a podcast, and enjoyed it more the second time. These stories are syntactically difficult to follow (which is of course the point) and reveal an obsession with the minutiae of language (again, the point, but a tiresome one). This collection was quirky and inventive, but lacked heart. I wouldn’t reread.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced