What a unique novel this was. I (obviously) picked this one up after reading so much about it in Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club posts. A very interesting story about two women with a slight touch of racism, which only magnifies as you get deeper into the story and the lives of some of these characters. Definitely not what I had expected.
Alix is in her 30s with her successful career in NY, two beautiful children and a charming husband, moves to Philadelphia and trying to find her ground from the big city life she has left behind. Alix is a motivational speaker and writer, who helps people write cover letters. Currently, to find more time to work on a book, she hires a part time baby-sitter, Emira to watch over her two year old daughter, Briar.
“But...I don't know. I know it's weird" - she tried to explain - "but people do pay other people to act like part of the family. That doesn't mean it's not a transaction.”
Emira, a 25 year old, as she is still trying to find herself and discover what she wants to do in life, she gets a job with Alix and her family and ends babysitting Briar three days a week. A quiet one herself, Emira quickly forms a bond with the very talkative Briar and her many questions about everything she sees.
One night when Emira and Briar are taking a trip to the grocery store to go look at some nuts, Emira is held by the security because of the assumption that Briar might be there against her will. Because Emira didn’t look like a babysitter and also because she is a black woman. Who happens to be working for a white family, walking with their white baby in a grocery store in the late hours of the night. There was someone else present there in the store that night, recording this debacle, live in action.
“I don't need you to be mad that it happened. I need you to be mad that it just like... happens.”
After that night, Alix started to take more interest in Emira and her life. Curiously asking her questions about her friends, who she’s dating, where she’s going that night after work, who she’s meeting, Alix wanted to know everything. Suddenly craving a friendship with Emira that took, Alix herself by surprise.
This was a light yet thought provoking book. The intricacies of the situations are very cleverly captured by Ried and told with an ease that slowly seep in as you turn the page. There are things we do and fetishes we may not always be aware of completely. And with this book, we get a glimpse of how these things are perceived. ‘Such a Fun Age’ really is about these two women, how their characters evolve through the book, their relationship with one another and how they react to the situations when their completely different paths cross.
“And people like that think that it says something good about them, that they’re so brave and unique that they would even dare to date black women. Like they’re some kind of martyr.”