Woman-empowering, business consultant white influencer lady tries to outwoke a Black-obsessed white man. Stuck in the middle is a twenty-something Black woman who is just trying to figure out her life, and more importantly, how to get health insurance. Nanny for the woman. Girlfriend of the man. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid looks into privilege, race, transactional relationships, and guilt. Couldn’t be more timely.
fiction
Thirty-something wonders if she should follow her creative passion or the money
I just learned that MasterClass describes their customers as CATS (creative, aspiring thirty-somethings). That’s one way to describe Lily King’s protagonist, Casey. She’s in a love triangle. She has writers’ block. But worst of all she’s wrestling with what a lot of people go through in their thirties - is it time to quit her creative aspirations and settle?
If the old man from Up was endearingly suicidal
in books, fiction, character driven
I never knew failed suicide attempts could be so charming but here we are. A Man Called Ove (2012) by Fredrik Backman is about a stodgy old guy who just wants to die but his neighbors keep bothering him and somehow his suicide attempts keep getting foiled or put off. The story goes back and forth between the present and his past, revealing why he is the way that he is. Makes you wonder if that grouchy old neighbor of yours is hiding some rich stories.
READ if like character stories about curmudgeons
Slam poetry meets Brexit meets improbable connections
How do I describe Spring (2019) by Ali Smith? It’s a novel collaged with politically charged rants (which will make sense about halfway through the book). It’s a bleak look at the political and cultural landscape - Brexit, refugee detainment, youthful hope, right-wing rage, data collection - wrapped in a narrative that follows unlikely connections - an old director, a detainee custody officer, a young activist. It’s beautiful, energetic, angry. It’s one that you might want to read a couple times to fully understand its meaning.
Quirky girl has dark relationship with her mom
Don’t be fooled by its cover, girl, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (2017) by Gail Honeyman, isn’t easy, breezy, beautiful. Our quirky lead is a little stand offish, but she doesn’t mind. She lives a life of routine; no friends, just “mummy.” That is, until she becomes obsessed with a guy she thinks she’s destined to be with. Sound delightful? Well, throw in a traumatic past, vodka, facial scars, and an IT guy and you have a surprisingly dark novel that you can get through in a weekend.
READ if you like female protagonists with traumatic back stories
If Harry Potter was rated R and set at Yale
Ninth House (2019), written by Leigh Bardugo, is based on the creepy and very real secret societies at Yale (it’s always Yale!). In this dark, twisted fantasy, the fictional Ninth House looks over the other (very real) societies (like George Bush’s society “Skull and Bones”) to make sure they aren’t fully murdering townies and of course something goes wrong. Come for the magical rituals, murder, ghosts, fentanyl, potions, the rich and privileged, the poor and victimized; stay for a young, flawed protagonist who grows on you. No pointy hats if you’re into that sort of thing. But it’s very much the kind of stuff you can imagine Jared Kushner is up to at this moment.