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A review by mnboyer
Plum Bun: A Novel Without a Moral by Jessi Redmon Fauset
4.0
I've been on the verge about whether or not this book should get a 3 or a 4 --so I've decided it is a 3.5 and I'll be lenient and give it a 4-star rating here on GoodReads.
Let me explain--
The novel is about a young woman named Angela, who, during the Harlem Renaissance, decides that living her life has become all too complicated because of race. Therefore, she decides that she is going to try "passing" and moves to New York. As one might predict, she still faces trouble and turmoil in New York as she is navigates the problems of being a woman, a white woman, a black woman, etc. Basically... there are no easy answers.
This novel may deserve 4-stars for being one of the first novels to be written on the subject in the 1920s--especially considering it is written by an African-American female author. I think this is one of the reasons we have returned to this novel, because of its historic significance (and the significance of the author). But that aside, the story itself is not "better" than some of the books that come later dealing with the same subject of "passing."
In terms of presenting an overall story, I would probably rate this somewhere around a 3. Sure, the characters are somewhat interesting, and the subject matter is interesting, but the writing style is not unique. There are moments where I wanted to say "well duh" after reading passages that were meant to be super profound. One such example: "She knew that men had a better time of it than women, coloured men than coloured women, white men than white [w]omen" (p88). I'm going to let the typo "momen" slide, but the publisher should have noticed this. I am, however, going to say this is 3-star rating in terms of writing because this moment of "epiphany" from Angela is nothing that should be an epiphany (even in the 1920s when it was written).
Another moment of confusion is when Angela meets Paulette and begins spending time with her. She seems to look up to Paulette, but only because "she has never seen a woman more completely at ease, more assuredly mistress of herself and of her fate" (p105). Why, might you ask, does she feel this way? The best answer is because Paulette has a male lover that spends time at her house (which we know because, gasp, Angela sees his toothbrush) and because Paulette smokes (not just smokes, but is alluring while she does it). Huh?
And of course, Angela has been caught "passing" before as a child. But for some reason, she is convinced this will not happen to her in New York. For real? Fauset tells us that she's been caught before... but Angela doesn't think it could possibly ever happen again? Seems illogical.
As a story, a solid 3. But because of some of the historical context, I'd be willing to give it a 3.5 and therefore round it to a 4.
Let me explain--
The novel is about a young woman named Angela, who, during the Harlem Renaissance, decides that living her life has become all too complicated because of race. Therefore, she decides that she is going to try "passing" and moves to New York. As one might predict, she still faces trouble and turmoil in New York as she is navigates the problems of being a woman, a white woman, a black woman, etc. Basically... there are no easy answers.
This novel may deserve 4-stars for being one of the first novels to be written on the subject in the 1920s--especially considering it is written by an African-American female author. I think this is one of the reasons we have returned to this novel, because of its historic significance (and the significance of the author). But that aside, the story itself is not "better" than some of the books that come later dealing with the same subject of "passing."
In terms of presenting an overall story, I would probably rate this somewhere around a 3. Sure, the characters are somewhat interesting, and the subject matter is interesting, but the writing style is not unique. There are moments where I wanted to say "well duh" after reading passages that were meant to be super profound. One such example: "She knew that men had a better time of it than women, coloured men than coloured women, white men than white [w]omen" (p88). I'm going to let the typo "momen" slide, but the publisher should have noticed this. I am, however, going to say this is 3-star rating in terms of writing because this moment of "epiphany" from Angela is nothing that should be an epiphany (even in the 1920s when it was written).
Another moment of confusion is when Angela meets Paulette and begins spending time with her. She seems to look up to Paulette, but only because "she has never seen a woman more completely at ease, more assuredly mistress of herself and of her fate" (p105). Why, might you ask, does she feel this way? The best answer is because Paulette has a male lover that spends time at her house (which we know because, gasp, Angela sees his toothbrush) and because Paulette smokes (not just smokes, but is alluring while she does it). Huh?
And of course, Angela has been caught "passing" before as a child. But for some reason, she is convinced this will not happen to her in New York. For real? Fauset tells us that she's been caught before... but Angela doesn't think it could possibly ever happen again? Seems illogical.
As a story, a solid 3. But because of some of the historical context, I'd be willing to give it a 3.5 and therefore round it to a 4.