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A review by erklel
New People by Danzy Senna
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
It’s certainly affecting. Maria, a light-skinned biracial Black woman, is fixated on race and her relationships. It is a rabbit hole I’ve fallen down myself: what does would it mean for me, as an Asian woman, to date a white man? Would it be possible for me to not feel exoticized, no matter who the man was? How would I be perceived, in that classic trope - the presumed racial self-hatred? And on the other hand, what would it mean to date an Asian man (as if those are the two options?!)
Maria’s circumstances are different of course, with different perceptions and contexts and histories impacting her. She lets the spiraling thoughts overwhelm her and follows her impulses, to nailbiting extremes.
An interesting and relatively quick read, but ultimately all the different parts didn’t really cohere for me.
Maria’s circumstances are different of course, with different perceptions and contexts and histories impacting her. She lets the spiraling thoughts overwhelm her and follows her impulses, to nailbiting extremes.
An interesting and relatively quick read, but ultimately all the different parts didn’t really cohere for me.