First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.
Synopsis:
When Emira Tucker is apprehended at a local high-end supermarket for “kidnapping” the white child she’s babysitting, a small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is left furious and humiliated. Her employer, Alix Chamberlain, a feminist entrepreneur known for her confidence-driven brand, resolves to make things right.
But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix’s desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. And when the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix’s past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.
It’s the end of the workweek—yay! I hope the week has been kind to everyone and that you’re all ending it on a high note. Just like that, we are already in the tenth month of the year. Today is the first Friday of October. The previous month has been quite a ride. Overall, September has been a great one for me, and I hope the rest of the year will be just as good. I am still adapting to my new work and environment, but everything has been going well. I feel like I can pick up where I left off. But how time flies! Time takes its natural course, with little regard for any of us. I hope that as the year progresses, everyone will be showered with blessings and good news. May the hard work you have put in be repaid. With the weekend finally here, I hope everyone has a great one. It’s time to dress down and spend the long weekend resting from the rigors of a demanding career, pursuing your passions, completing household chores, spending time with loved ones, or simply relaxing.
After weeks of relentless rain in August and early September, the sun has been shining brilliantly once again over the latter part of September. There are still occasional rains, but this is certainly better than August. The monsoon certainly lived up to its name, especially in the northern part of the country. Ironically, the southern part of the country has been experiencing extreme heat caused by the super El Niño. Unfortunately, it seems that the super El Niño will wreak havoc over the next six months. I hope the forecasts are off the mark. Regardless, wherever you are in the Philippines or elsewhere in the world, I hope you’re all doing well—physically, mentally, and emotionally. Anyway, with the end of the workweek comes a fresh First Impression Friday update. In September, I crossed the Pacific from my previous literary venture into Asian literature. I am now in the midst of a literary adventure across the vast landscape of American literature.
American literature has been a staple of my annual literary journey. With American literature being among the most readily available, I guess one can never escape it. I also realized that I have several works of American literature in my ongoing reading challenges. Since I still have several unread works by American writers on my reading lists, extending this journey into October is a no-brainer. My current read, however, is not part of any of these reading challenges. It was during the pandemic that I learned about Kiley Reid and her novel, Such a Fun Age. The novel was ubiquitous, naturally piquing my interest. It was also longlisted for the Booker Prize. However, it took some time before I was convinced to take a chance on the book. Even after I acquired a copy, it sat on my bookshelf gathering dust for a while before I finally picked it up.
Apparently, Such a Fun Age was Reid’s debut novel. The novel opens with Emira Tucker, a 25-year-old African American college graduate. While out with her friends late one Saturday night, she receives a call from Alix Chamberlain, the woman she babysits for. Alix begs Emira to watch Briar, her two-year-old daughter. Alix, a wealthy influencer, lifestyle blogger, entrepreneur, and public speaker in her early thirties, has built a brand known as “LetHer Speak.” The brand advocates writing old-fashioned letters to businesses in exchange for free product samples. It also encourages women to be more assertive. Alix and her family were originally from New York City but moved to Philadelphia for her husband Peter’s job as a television anchor. Meanwhile, Alix has hit a slump as she tries to balance work with her personal life. She is raising two children while trying to write a book.
A “family emergency” prompts Alix to call Emira that Saturday evening. She does not want her son to be around as she deals with the emergency. In need of money, Emira reluctantly agrees. Assisted by her friend Zara, Emira arrives at the Chamberlains’ residence, where she notices a hole in one of their windows. Apparently, their residence had been egged during the night. Alix’s husband, Peter, had received backlash for making a racist remark on-air, though he insists the comment was thoughtless. Alix asks Emira to take Briar to Market Depot, a nearby upscale supermarket, to kill some time. There, they have an impromptu dance party in one of the aisles. After Zara leaves, however, a security guard accuses Emira of kidnapping Briar and refuses to believe that she is the child’s babysitter. Peter Chamberlain’s arrival clears up the issue. During the altercation, a bystander named Kelley Copeland records the incident.
One night, on her way to meet her friends for dinner, Emira runs into Kelley Copeland in the subway. Kelley urges Emira to post the video online. However, Emira refuses. When Kelley won’t back down, Emira relents and allows him to at least forward the video to her. This interaction, however, leads to something deeper and more intimate. They start dating, bringing the novel’s first part to a close. In the second part, the perspective shifts to Alix as she recalls the details of her life that led to this point. Before becoming Alix, she was Alex Murphy. Her parents became wealthy when she was in junior high. While studying in college, she started writing letters to companies. In exchange for her written reviews, the companies sent her free products. She posted her reviews on her blog, which gradually gained a respectable following. This eventually developed into LetHer Speak.
Around this time, she also met Peter, who supported her business endeavors. When she became pregnant, the couple discussed returning to Alix’s hometown of Philadelphia to settle down and raise their family. Alix, however, was encouraged by the success of her business and refused to quit just yet. After Briar was born, Alix struggled to find motherhood rewarding. However, when Catherine was born, the family moved back to Philadelphia. Alix adored her daughter, who was calm and quiet, the antithesis of her brother. Still, she struggled to look after Briar, which led to Emira’s hiring. Alix was shocked by the incident at the supermarket, prompting her to try to treat Emira better. She offered her extra pay and gifts, intent on cultivating a deeper relationship with her. Emira, however, simply regarded Alix as her employer.
Such a Fun Age interestingly grapples with both contemporary and classic subjects. The racial profiling Emira experiences at the supermarket is an experience shared by many African Americans. Ironically, they have become so accustomed to such forms of micro- and macroaggressions that they would rather let them pass than allow them to escalate. Meanwhile, Alix presents a different dimension. She tries to gain Emira’s allyship. However, her carefully cultivated facade as a social media influencer raises questions about her intentions. Is she genuinely sympathetic, or is her allyship performative? The growing relevance of social media has given rise to performative activism. It has become increasingly challenging to discern what is authentic and what is artificial. Alix’s initial attempts to befriend Emira after the incident appear well-intentioned. However, her subsequent actions suggest otherwise.
As I enter the novel’s third part, I look forward to seeing how the story unfolds. Will Alix’s white saviorism persist? Meanwhile, Kelley and Alix’s past connection is slowly emerging. How will it affect the present? On the sly, the novel also explores motherhood and nurturing, as captured through the relationships between Emira and Briar, and Alix and her children. It is a rather quick read, and I should be able to complete it over the weekend. How about you, fellow readers? What are you reading this weekend? I hope you’re enjoying your current book.
