Author: Danzy Senna, narrated by Kristen Ariza
Year published: 2024
Category: Adult fiction
Pages: 384 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5
Location: (my 2024 Google Reading map): USA (CA)
Summary: Jane has high hopes that her life is about to turn around. After a long, precarious stretch bouncing among sketchy rentals and sublets, she and her family are living in luxury for a year, house-sitting in the hills above Los Angeles. The gig magically coincides with Jane’s sabbatical, giving her the time and space she needs to finish her second novel—a centuries-spanning epic her artist husband, Lenny, dubs her “mulatto War and Peace.” Finally, some semblance of stability and success seems to be within her grasp.
But things don’t work out quite as hoped. Desperate for a plan B, like countless writers before her Jane turns her gaze to Hollywood. When she finagles a meeting with Hampton Ford, a hot producer with a major development deal at a streaming network, he seems excited to work with a “real writer,” and together they begin to develop “the Jackie Robinson of biracial comedies.” Things finally seem to be going right for Jane—until they go terribly wrong.
Review: This was a pick for one of my book groups. I knew I couldn't make the October meeting so didn't read it. Then the October meeting didn't happen and we kept it as the November choice and here I am. I listened to this novel and the narrator did a good job.
Did I know the author's husband is Percival Everett (author of James)? No, I did not. She writes about race throughout the story: judging people's race (or percentage of certain races), commenting on race, and naming every character's race. It felt a bit much until I realized that this was exactly her point. I know that white writers only mention a character's race if they are not white. The assumption is that all characters are, by default, white. That's why they mention those that aren't.
So, to have a book where everyone's race is mentioned feels strange, but only because it's relevant, out of the "ordinary" (meaning white), and brings the idea of race to the forefront. The main character uses the word mulatto for herself, which becomes the basis for the TV show she tries to create.
I wish I could have ranked this novel higher. I think it really has a lot to say. About race. About society. About wealth. About the Hollywood industry. But I didn't get pulled into the novel as much as I wanted. And it's very possible that it's me and my current mood.
Challenges for which this counts:
- Bookish--main character is a novelist writing a novel and TV show pilot script
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