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A review by courtneydoss
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
4.0
Queenie is the story of a young Jamaican-British woman dealing with a break up from her long term partner Tom. Compared to Bridget Jones, Queenie is a snarky and empowered (sort of...not really). In actuality, Queenie is a mess. Self-destructive, sleeping her way through half of England without any protection and slacking it hardcore in her job. She is deluded about herself, her relationship, and her life, as well as being incredibly depressed. This isn't an uplifting story. It is a darkly realistic story of mental illness and self-destruction.
One of the most interesting parts of this story, for me, was the depiction of casual racism. Sure, there are scenes in which relatives of her white boyfriend use offensive language as a "joke". But what stands out more from this novel is all of the "not really racist" racism that takes place. We are shown, through the eyes of a modern black woman, the way that she is fetishized by men for her blackness, dismissed for being too angry or too reactionary when she stands up for herself, ignored in her attempts to branch out into more serious journalism with coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement, forced into arguments about race simply because she is the only black person in the room, and the ways in which all of the people around her enable this sort of behavior. People casually want to touch her hair, they fail to stand up for her when she is faced with racism. This book is a never ending parade of seemingly innocuous racism. It is incredibly enlightening.
I say that it is enlightening because as a white woman, I know that all of this exists. However, I never understood exactly how fucking exhausting it must be to be a black person dealing with this onslaught of well-meaning people who refuse to acknowledge all of the microaggressions that they hurtle toward black people day in and day out. I was emotionally exhausted reading this book, on behalf of Queenie. I can only imagine how tired of the bullshit black people in the real world must be feeling.
Beyond the obvious topic of racism, this book dealt fairly well with the concept of reckless behavior as self-harm, generational trauma, the stigma against mental illness especially within immigrant families, and the nuance of female friendship.
There was a lot to be gained by reading this book. I think it is a stunning debut by Candice Carty-Williams, and a much needed voice within the contemporary fiction genre. I look forward to seeing what else Carty-Williams comes up with in the future.
One of the most interesting parts of this story, for me, was the depiction of casual racism. Sure, there are scenes in which relatives of her white boyfriend use offensive language as a "joke". But what stands out more from this novel is all of the "not really racist" racism that takes place. We are shown, through the eyes of a modern black woman, the way that she is fetishized by men for her blackness, dismissed for being too angry or too reactionary when she stands up for herself, ignored in her attempts to branch out into more serious journalism with coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement, forced into arguments about race simply because she is the only black person in the room, and the ways in which all of the people around her enable this sort of behavior. People casually want to touch her hair, they fail to stand up for her when she is faced with racism. This book is a never ending parade of seemingly innocuous racism. It is incredibly enlightening.
I say that it is enlightening because as a white woman, I know that all of this exists. However, I never understood exactly how fucking exhausting it must be to be a black person dealing with this onslaught of well-meaning people who refuse to acknowledge all of the microaggressions that they hurtle toward black people day in and day out. I was emotionally exhausted reading this book, on behalf of Queenie. I can only imagine how tired of the bullshit black people in the real world must be feeling.
Beyond the obvious topic of racism, this book dealt fairly well with the concept of reckless behavior as self-harm, generational trauma, the stigma against mental illness especially within immigrant families, and the nuance of female friendship.
There was a lot to be gained by reading this book. I think it is a stunning debut by Candice Carty-Williams, and a much needed voice within the contemporary fiction genre. I look forward to seeing what else Carty-Williams comes up with in the future.