[23], "Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid review — a new literary star", "In Such a Fun Age, everyone wants the black girl's attention, but she just wants a real job", "In 'Such a Fun Age,' Kiley Reid takes aim at race and class in America", "Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid — a compelling indictment of humans", "Kiley Reid A debut with a social conscience", "Kiley Reid's Novel Is About Race and Class and Other People's Children", "Such a Fun Age: 'The most provocative page-turner of 2020': Kiley Reid", "Kiley Reid has written the most provocative page-turner of the year", "Kiley Reid: 'Some black women say: "I don't want to explain anything." Such a Fun Age is a 2019 novel by American author Kiley Reid. Reid kicks off a 19-city book tour Monday at Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee & Books. The novel satirizes what has been described as "the white pursuit of wokeness", by having the two main white characters use their relation… At the store, Emira, her friend Zara, and Briar dance to Whitney Houston and are noticed by an older white woman. “Such a Fun Age is blessedly free of preaching, but if Reid has an ethos, it’s attention: the attention Emira pays to who Briar really is, and the attention that Alix fails to pay to Emira, instead spending her time thinking about her….The novel is often funny and always acute, but never savage; Reid is too fascinated by how human beings work to tear them apart. . Minutes before the interview, Emira comes to know that it was in fact Alix who leaked the video. "[21], Hephzibah Anderson of The Observer criticized the character development of Alix Chamberlain as well as the novel's plot for "[pivoting] on an almighty coincidence" but nonetheless called it a "cracking debut" and wrote that "Reid writes with a confidence and verve that produce magnetic prose. ‘Such a Fun Age’ came out Dec. 31, and Elle magazine has already hailed it … Alix also has an infant daughter named Catherine. However, though Emira is 25 years old, her story is still a coming of age story because her experiences help her achieve her definition of adulthood. Such a Fun Age is a brilliant, powerful novel about racism and privilege. A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both. Upon meeting, they realize that Alix (formerly Alex Murphy) and Kelley dated at in high school and parted on bad terms. Reid interrogates tropes of the white savior and unknowing racist in everyday life. Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age opens with Emira Tucker, a 25-year-old black woman, being called to babysit for the white Chamberlain family during a late-night crisis. Alix’s offer of more hours seems like an ideal proposition for Emira. I'm not one of them, "Such A Fun Age Author Kiley Reid Wants To Make You Cringe", "Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid review – an essential new talent", "Fiction Book Review: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid", "Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid – charming, authentic, entertaining", "When It Comes to Race, How Progressive Are the Progressives? Reid interrogates tropes of the white savior and unknowing racist in everyday life. Well into her thirties, Emira wonders what she learned from her time at the Chamberlain house and what kind of person Briar will grow up to become. Alix Chamberlain is a wealthy blogger and public speaker in her early thirties who has built a brand known as "LetHer Speak" around the practice of writing old-fashioned letters to businesses, often in exchange for free product samples, and encouraging women to be assertive. However, when Emira learns what Alix did, she is forced to be an adult and find a job on her own. Alix comforts her and offers her a full-time job as Briar's nanny, which she accepts. [13], Such a Fun Age deals with the themes of interracial relations, privilege, millennial anxiety and wealth. Years pass and Emira begins working as administrative assistant. Throughout the novel, the white characters assume they know what is best for the protagonist, without ever seeing anything from her perspective, and speak about her with a sense of ownership. "[17], The novel was very well-received by critics,[18] who described it as having timely themes, authentic dialogue and believable characters. Such a Fun Age nestles a nuanced take on racial biases and class divides into a page-turning saga of betrayals, twists and perfectly awkward relationships . Considering these themes, Such a Fun Age, a title Reid says is “ironic”, could have been a novel of sharp observation and whip-smart dialogue. Hey y’all, so Such a Fun Age was the book club pick for The Reading Rush and I ended up loving it. "[22] The Boston Globe concurred, noting that the second half of the novel was based on a "contrived" coincidence but "once you buy into the path Reid chooses, she deftly ratchets up the tension and the characters always ring true. “Such a Fun Age is blessedly free of preaching, but if Reid has an ethos, it’s attention: the attention Emira pays to who Briar really is, and the attention that Alix fails to pay to Emira, instead spending her time thinking about her….The novel is often funny and always acute, but never savage; Reid is too fascinated by how human beings work to tear them apart. Such a Fun Age is about Emira Tucker, a black 25 year old who recently completed her university degree, but has been struggling to find a job in her field. Feels bound for book-club glory, due to its sheer readability ― Entertainment Weekly Fun is the operative word in Kiley Reid's delectably discomfiting debut. When a surprising connection emerges between the two women, it sends them on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know â about themselves, each other, and the messy dynamics of privilege. [14] Throughout the novel, the white characters assume they know what is best for the protagonist, without ever seeing anything from her perspective, and speak about her with a sense of ownership. Alix also arranges an interview with Emira and herself on local television. Alix is shocked by the incident and tries to treat Emira better, offering her extra pay and gifts, and becomes intent on developing a friendship with her, though Emira simply regards Alix as her employer. Such a Fun Age tackles the issues of race and privilege through the perspectives of the babysitter, Emira, and her employer, Alix Chamberlain. Instead it is littered with stereotypes and conversations that feel forced. "[10] Reid has also said that the novel was partly inspired by the years she spent in her 20s working as a babysitter. Sally-Charell Delin hat das Buch schon gelesen. everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Such a Fun Age. After her encounter with the security guard in Market Depot, Emira criticizes herself because she believes she would not have been in that situation if she had what she considered a real job. After the incident is resolved, … The coming of age theme is common in young adult novels. [5][7] In the context of Emira's job, the novel also explores emotional labour and transactional relationships. To Emira's shock, it goes viral. Such A Fun Age Summary *Note that this summary contains spoilers* The plot revolves around Emira, a young black babysitter working for a privileged blogger turned entrepreneur, Alix Chamberlain, and her husband who is a news anchor. Download. "[15], Lauren Christensen of The New York Times Book Review gave the novel a mixed review, criticizing the plot's "many lapses in credibility" as well as Reid's "cloying vernacular". Download. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Such_a_Fun_Age&oldid=1020988868, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Print (hardcover and paperback), e-book, audio, This page was last edited on 2 May 2021, at 07:58. Alix tells Emira that she should break up with Kelley because he fetishized black people in high school: he invited Robbie and the cool kids to the house to become friends with them and later broke up with Alix in favor of them. She sees Kelley with his black girlfriend and Mrs. Chamberlain with an older Briar but does not approach any of them. The coming of age theme is common in young adult novels. It was during this period that the deaths of Freddie Gray and Philando Castile took place, and Reid said she was "absolutely inspired by the everyday terror" but that, in the novel, she wanted to explore "instances of racial biases that don't end in violence as a way of highlighting those moments that we don't see on the news but still exist every day. Read the full review. It tells the story of a young black woman who is wrongly accused of kidnapping while babysitting a white child, and the events that follow the incident. This Study Guide consists of approximately 42 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - “Such a Fun Age is blessedly free of preaching, but if Reid has an ethos, it’s attention: the attention Emira pays to who Briar really is, and the attention that Alix fails to pay to Emira, instead spending her time thinking about her….The novel is often funny and always acute, but never savage; Reid is too fascinated by how human beings work to tear them apart. Alix's family has moved from New York City to her hometown of Philadelphia for her husband Peter's job as a television anchor, and her career is stalling as she raises two children and attempts to write her first book. Later, Kelley tells Emira that she needs to quit her job because Alix is racist: in high school she called the police to a party at her mansion home, indirectly caused a Black student, Robbie to lose his scholarship when he was arrested with drugs, and has a history of surrounding herself with black employees. "[19] It also received praise from Kirkus Reviews[20] and Publishers Weekly, with the latter describing it as a "nuanced portrait of a young black woman struggling to define herself apart from the white people in her life who are all too ready to speak and act on her behalf. I started with a quick read from the longlist to gain some momentum: Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age, a contemporary novel that I had a good time with, though after reading I’m still a bit surprised by its placement on the Booker list! Believing that Kelley leaked it, she breaks up with him. [12], The novel debuted at number three on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction best-sellers list. After her encounter with the security guard in Market Depot, Emira criticizes herself because she believes she would not have been in that situation if she had what she considered a real job. Such a Fun Age dissects the dynamics of white privilege with a lightness of touch as well as sharp observations, and an empathy that lends depth to all of its protagonists. Putnam’s Sons (an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC). Meanwhile, Emira runs into Kelley again on the train, and the two start dating. Sara Collins of The Guardian gave the novel a rave review, calling it "the calling card of a virtuoso talent" and writing that it "skillfully interweaves race-related explorations with astute musings on friendship, motherhood, marriage, love and more. Such a Fun Age was totally not what I was expecting, but it was so good! After Zara leaves, a security guard approaches Emira at the white woman's behest and questions why Emira is with Briar. Such a Fun Age. Such a Fun Age Themes The Intersection of Race, Class, and Gender Each of the characters in Such a Fun Age is challenged to think about, understand, and change their understanding of the ways that intersecting identities impact people in the United States in regard to race, class, and gender. . My Booker Prize 2020 reading is officially underway! Reid started writing the novel in 2015, while she was applying to graduate school, and finished it while pursuing her MFA at the University of Iowa. However, though Emira is 25 years old, her story is still a coming of age story because her experiences help her achieve her definition of adulthood. "Such a fun age" ist diese Woche auch auf deutsch erschienen. While the "age" in the title recalls childhood, the novel is very much about Emira’s pivotal age and her … [11] Reid stated in an interview that "the history of black women taking care of white children is at the forefront [of the book]. Such A Fun Age is a millennial mediation on race and class relations in the US, set to the backdrop of Barack’s America in 2015 and during the rise of the dissemination of recorded incidents of racism. Emira feels worse and worse about herself as she sees her friends achieving her idea of success as an adult. "[16], The novel also deals with millennial anxiety relating to job security and confusion over career choices. Such a Fun Age book. Polizeigewalt gegenüber schwarzen Menschen ist spätestens seit der Tötung von George Floyd ein großes Thema, das die US-amerikanische Autorin Kiley Reid schon vor der Tötung Floyds in einem Roman verarbeitet hat. “Such a Fun Age is blessedly free of preaching, but if Reid has an ethos, it’s attention: the attention Emira pays to who Briar really is, and the attention that Alix fails to pay to Emira, instead spending her time thinking about her….The novel is often funny and always acute, but never savage; Reid is too fascinated by how human beings work to tear them apart. A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both. When Alix confronts her, Emira urges Alix to be a better mother to Briar. 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