Date of Completion: 18/12/2020
‘Such a Fun Age‘ is an entertaining read that starts with a bang! Readers are quickly presented with an unpleasant scene that serves to capture our attention and set the scene for the rest of the book. Throw in Kiley Reid’s simple yet picturesque writing style, and, unsurprisingly, I was enthralled after reading a few chapters.
I don’t need you to be mad that it happened. I need you to be mad that it just like…happens.
With such an intriguing start, I expected things to get a lot more chaotic as the book progressed. While this does occur to some degree, I had such high expectations for immense tension and discord that I could not help but feel unsatisfied with the crumbs Kiley serves. Instead, her focus on the relatively normal lives of the main characters adds up to chapters upon chapters filled with uneasiness but very little commotion.
Perhaps I would have liked the character-driven storyline more if I had a stronger connection with the two main characters. Alix is a clear antagonist whose interactions with her eldest daughter and Emira (the other main character) was a source of constant frustration. Emira, who could be said to be the protagonist of the story, is simply too passive and insecure for me to connect with.
I think it best we went our separate ways, and that those paths never crossed again.
Characters aside, I still really enjoyed this book as it cleverly explores various themes including identity, friendships, babysitter/child/mother dynamics, and inter-racial relationships. However, its main focus on racism/ privilege leaves much to be desired. There’s simply not enough explicit contents to explore apart from the main events at the beginning and end of the book.
In contrast, what we have are instances of racial microaggressions that are far too subtle and vague to be easily noted by those unfamiliar with such instances. Moreover, these microaggressions often lack an explanation as to why they are problematic to help readers fully grasp the implications of such behaviours.
To sum up, ‘Such a Fun Age’ is an easy read that manages to explore various themes. While I had a great time reading and discussing these themes with a friend, I found the storyline far too simplistic and that’s what brings down my rating.
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