Such a Fun Age
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Would you believe me if I told you that going into this I thought it was a nonfiction parenting book? Oops. I read this as part of a bookclub at work, and checked it out from the library without reading the blurb. So when the book kicks off with a young Black babysitter’s grocery store encounter with a free-range Karen and her security guard lackey, I was not prepared. Of course, neither was Emira the babysitter so at least we had that in common. The author, Kiley Reid, jumps perspectives between Emira and her employer Alix Chamberlain. Alix is a wealthy white woman who has made a career out of feminism. She prides herself on her successful career, having a diverse set of friends, and having successfully reinvented herself after a bad experience in high school. Emira on the other hand doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life, and is largely content to enjoy her 20s hanging
out with friends instead of establishing a career.
Most of the book revolves around the two women as they try to navigate what their relationship should be post Incident. Complicating this is a man who comes into Emira’s life the night of the incident as a bystander, but who has ties to Alix’s past as well. In Such A Fun Age, Kiley Reid has spun a cast of characters that aren’t always likable, but who feel authentically messy as they try to navigate the grey or uncomfortable areas of life. I gave it 5 stars because of how effectively the book hooked me and kept me off balance, but I think I have to add an asterisk - it’s a very well written book, but the bookclub discussion made the excellent point that this feels like a novel aimed at a white audience. Specifically, at the folks who consider themselves liberal but maybe don’t pay as much attention to politics as they should, or who call themselves an ally but also think the Black woman in their office wouldn’t have to deal with nearly as much at work if she’d just do her hair a little more professionally and let the little things slide more often. The general consensus from my bookclub was that if you’ve been in Emira’s shoes, Such A Fun Age isn’t going to add much for you. But if (like me) you’ve never really had to think about it before, it’s an eye opening experience.
I don’t want to talk too much about the race-related aspects of the book, because I think it’s more powerful to discover them as the book slowly unfolds in a semi-linear fashion, hopping between multiple character’s viewpoints. But I do want to take a moment to appreciate the relationship between Emira and Briar, the 3 year old she babysits. Briar is loud, opinionated, and often difficult. Where Alix struggles to connect with her daughter because even at 2 Briar is already wildly different from her mother, Emira meets Briar where she is and appreciates her for her oddities. I suspect Briar was written as neurodivergent (maybe autistic?), but it’s never directly addressed and I’m not an expert. I absolutely loved the moments of joy Emira and Briar shared, and their bond made the adult conflicts across the rest of the book that much harder to read.
I don’t know how much wine the women of this book consumed, but it wasn’t an insignificant amount. So I’m pairing this with Coteaux Bourguignons from In Good Taste. It was earthier than most Pinot Noirs and would be perfect to serve at a holiday dinner. I don’t drink much red wine these days but this one was a winner, and one I’ll probably look to buy again.
