Such a Fun Age

Such a Fun Age is a 2019 novel by Kiley Reid. It is her debut novel and was published by G. P. Putnam's Sons on December 31, 2019. It tells the story of a young black woman who is wrongly accused of kidnapping while babysitting a child, and the events that follow it.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

Such a Fun Age
First edition cover
AuthorKiley Reid
Audio read byNicole Lewis[1]
Cover artistVi-An Nguyen
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Set inPhiladelphia
PublisherG. P. Putnam's Sons
Publication date
December 31, 2019
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback), e-book, audio
Pages320
ISBN978-0-525-54190-5 (hardcover)
OCLC1129582283
813/.6
LC ClassPS3618.E5363 S83 2020
Websitekileyreid.com/such-a-fun-age

Writing

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. 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."[10] Reid has also said that the novel was partly inspired by the years she spent in her 20s working as a babysitter.[11]

Plot

Alix Chamberlain is a blogger and public speaker who has moved from New York City to Philadelphia for her husband's job as a television anchor. Alix hires Emira Tucker, a 25-year-old African-American college graduate, as a babysitter to care for her three-year-old daughter Briar. When Alix asks Emira to take Briar with her to a local supermarket, Emira is accused by the store's security guard of kidnapping Briar. Emira explains herself but is freed only once Briar's father shows up. The entire incident is taped by a bystander, Kelley Copeland. Shaken, Emira has him email her the video and delete it from his phone.

When Alix hears of the incident, she is shocked and tries to treat Emira better, including offering her a higher pay. Meanwhile, Emira runs into Kelley again, and the two start dating. That Thanksgiving, Alix invites her and Kelley home for dinner. Upon meeting, they realize that Alix was Kelley’s highschool girlfriend. Later, Kelley tells Emira that Alix is racist and indirectly caused a black student’s scholarship to get canceled.

Emira continues working for the Chamberlains. Alix tells Emira that Kelley is racist and fetishizes black people. Determined to show that she has Emira’s best interests at heart, Alix gains access to Emira’s email and leaks the video of the grocery incident. To Emira’s shock, it goes viral. Believing that Kelley has leaked it, she breaks up with him. Alix comforts her and offers her a full-time job as Briar’s nanny, which she accepts. Alix also arranges an interview with Emira and herself on local television.

Minutes before the interview, Emira comes to know that it was in fact Alix who leaked the video. On air, Emira embarrasses Alix, using the same line that Kelley had used to break up with her in high school. When Alix confronts her, Emira admonishes Alix for being a bad mother to Briar and quits. After the interview airs, Kelley tries to contact Emira but she does not respond.

Years pass and Emira begins working as administrative assistant. She sees Kelley with his black girlfriend and Mrs. Chamberlain with a grown-up Briar but does not approach any of them. Well into her 30s, Emira wonders what she learned from her time at the Chamberlain house.

Publication

The novel was published in the United States in hardcover and paperback by G. P. Putnam's Sons on December 31, 2019.[2] It was published in the United Kingdom in hardcover by Bloomsbury Circus, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, on January 7, 2020.[12]

The novel debuted at number three on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction best-sellers list.[13]

Themes

Such a Fun Age deals with the themes of interracial relations, privilege, millennial anxiety and wealth. Reid interrogates tropes of the white savior and unknowing racist in everyday life.[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.[15] The novel satirizes what has been described as "the white pursuit of wokeness",[6] by having the two main white characters use their relationships with Emira as the battleground through which each intends to prove their racial virtue.[7] Reid explained that she did not think of her characters as inherently bad, conversely, that they "were dying to help, but kind of going through mental gymnastics to ignore the broken systems that put people where they are to begin with."[16]

The novel also deals with millennial anxiety relating to job security and confusion over career choices. Over the course of the book, the main concern of Emira remains finding a secure job, as she will be removed from her parents' healthcare insurance cover upon turning 26. While she remains at her babysitting job, her group of friends start advancing in their careers, intensifying her desire for "a real adult job", which neither her nor her friends consider babysitting to be.[5][7] In the context of Emira's job, the novel also explores emotional labour and transactional relationships.[11] Reid stated in an interview that "the history of black women taking care of white children is at the forefront [of the book]. It’s this job that is so important, with really high stakes and a very small margin of error—but also, a 13-year-old could do it."[17]

Reception

The novel was well-received by critics, who praised its timely themes, authentic dialogue and believable characters. 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."[18] It also received praise from Kirkus Reviews[19] 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."[20]

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."[21] 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."[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".[22]

References
  1. "Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid". Penguin Random House Audio. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  2. "Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid". Penguin Random House. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  3. Masad, Ilana (December 28, 2019). "'Such A Fun Age' Is A Complex, Layered Page-Turner". NPR. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  4. Crisell, Hattie (January 1, 2020). "Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid review — a new literary star". The Times. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  5. Miller, Laura (January 7, 2020). "The Babysitter and the Influencer". Slate. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  6. Hayes, Stephanie (January 8, 2020). "Such a Fun Age Satirizes the White Pursuit of Wokeness". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  7. Grady, Constance (January 8, 2020). "In Such a Fun Age, everyone wants the black girl's attention, but she just wants a real job". Vox. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  8. Patrick, Bethanne (January 6, 2020). "In 'Such a Fun Age,' Kiley Reid takes aim at race and class in America". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  9. Crawford, Maria (January 10, 2020). "Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid — a compelling indictment of humans". Financial Times. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  10. Bufferd, Lauren (January 2020). "Kiley Reid A debut with a social conscience". BookPage. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  11. de León, Concepción (December 28, 2019). "Kiley Reid's Novel Is About Race and Class and Other People's Children". The New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  12. "Such a Fun Age: 'The most provocative page-turner of 2020': Kiley Reid". Bloomsbury Circus. Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  13. "Hardcover Fiction Books - Best Sellers". The New York Times. January 19, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  14. Canfield, David (December 17, 2019). "Kiley Reid has written the most provocative page-turner of the year". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  15. Miller, Stuart (January 2, 2020). "'Such a Fun Age' is an inviting and indicting view of privilege in action". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  16. Lea, Richard (December 28, 2019). "Kiley Reid: 'Some black women say: "I don't want to explain anything." I'm not one of them'". The Guardian. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  17. Kovan, Brianna (December 28, 2019). "Such A Fun Age Author Kiley Reid Wants To Make You Cringe". Elle. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  18. Collins, Sara (January 2, 2020). "Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid review – an essential new talent". The Guardian. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  19. "Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid". Kirkus Reviews. October 14, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  20. "Fiction Book Review: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid". Publishers Weekly. August 14, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  21. Anderson, Hephzibah (January 7, 2020). "Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid – charming, authentic, entertaining". The Observer. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  22. Christensen, Lauren (December 31, 2019). "When It Comes to Race, How Progressive Are the Progressives?". The New York Times Book Review. The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
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