There are some stories that need to be told. When these are realistic fiction, they stay with you. Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid is one such novel.
Lately, I’ve been really into slice-of-life narratives than larger-than-life ones. The story started off with the unfortunate racial profiling of Emira Tucker by a shopper at a supermarket. The thing is, Emira was just babysitting a toddler, named Briar, but was accused and this scene caused quite a stir.
At this point I expected a larger-than-life story of an ordinary sitter strapped for cash to become internet-viral overnight… but Mira (as Bri, the toddler, calls Emira) decides to not take things further and shrugs it off. This was odd, but as a character in one of my all-time favourite movies, Super Deluxe, said:
Reason is one thing, and reality is another.
Naturally, Mira’s employer, Alix Chamberlain is shocked to hear this and she (and her husband, who is just a small element in this yet-to-be complex story) tries to do everything she can to make it up to her. This is what makes the crux of the story.
It’s phenomenal how genuinely Reid writes. Everything flows like a conversation—she shows that life is imperfect and accepting that is a magnanimous task for most people. Alix, formerly known as Alex, is a successful, self-made (despite her posh background) businesswoman who still hasn’t come to terms with some high school trauma. Mira is a fun 26-year-old woman with a relatable personality, who is now hit with the reality that all her friends are doing great things while she is clueless about what she is doing. And then there is the equally important character in this equation: Bri. She is an inquisitive toddler with the superpower of bringing some balance into this complicated relationship.
But why does this book work? Well, it goes far and beyond focusing just on the racial profiling that night. That was just a tiny spark that snowballed into a series of confessions of dark pasts and boundary stomping. Alix’s dark past is somehow connected with Mira's present, but how? And why does this prompt Alix to do things that no sane person would do?
Again, I just loved how real the characters were. We saw a brilliant but mentally-fatigued Alix who is now conscious about her baby weight from her second child. Her husband’s problems at work only instigate her spiraling. Mira is someone who is battling thoughts about what’s right and what’s wrong. And whether what’s wrong is acceptable. And whether what’s acceptable is right… You can’t help but feel immense pride when characters take their lives into their own hands. Sometimes, I don’t mind a larger-than-life, cinematic climax.
Final thoughts
This book is all about the huge task of just being human. You might be rewarded or you might have to bear the brunt of your actions. But whatever the characters end up doing (read the book to know) is not as important as why they’re doing it. And Kiley Reid has neatly crafted a powerful story (which I can see getting adapted into a motion picture) that does not lose focus.
Rating: ★★★★★
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