BOOKS OF THE YEAR
BOOK OF THE DAY
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid review – an essential new talent
A thrilling millennial take on the 19th-century novel of manners investigates race, friendship and privilege
Sara Collins
Thu 2 January 2020
U
S author Kiley Reid offers a refreshing take on an age-old question: can we connect across barriers of race, gender, wealth and privilege? Emira Tucker, who works in Philadelphia as a babysitter for news anchor Peter and lifestyle guru Alix, takes their toddler, Briar, to an upscale supermarket where suspicions are stirred because she is black and the child is white. The security guard accuses her of kidnapping, and is only appeased when Emira calls Peter. (Peter is “an old white guy”, she declares, “so I’m sure everyone will feel better”.) A lesser novel would have lingered here, in territory that’s painfully familiar from countless viral incidents. But in Reid’s debut the incident heralds a caustically funny skewering of the sort of well-intentioned liberal who congratulates themselves on having black guests at dinner.