As I've started to read more books by Black authors, I thought that it was important not only to read educational non-fiction, but also more light-hearted Young Adult fiction reads. This was perfect for this, as I read it alongside 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race' by Reni Eddo-Lodge, which has been deemed an essential non-fiction read to aid understanding of the BLM movement.
I was absolutely attracted to the beautiful book cover for 'Queenie' by Candice Carty-Williams, and how gorgeous the side profile of Queenie is. I love the details of her hair and earrings, which already give her so much character before even opening the book. I listened to the book in audiobooks format, so this image was taken from the author's Instagram page.
I have to be honest and say that I have mixed feelings about this book. I did think the writing style was brilliant, and I found it to be a real page turner as I finished it in only two sittings!
On one hand, I think that it's a fantastically topical book about the realities of Black women trying to amplify the Black Lives Matter movement, and how they can be shut down due to it being deemed too 'radical' to speak about. On the other, I find Queenie incredibly flawed, and while I don't usually mind a flawed character as it makes them more real and relatable, I felt that some of her decisions were not very well explained. Perhaps I was naive in waiting for an explanation, however.
This review will contain many spoilers! Read with caution.
Let's get on to what I really enjoyed:
The narrator, Shvorne Marks is an absolute joy to listen to. I couldn't get enough of how seamlessly she switches between the male and female voices, younger and older characters, the accents. It really felt like listening to a play instead of a mere book, and I was in awe of her range the entire way through. While we're on the topic of audiobook specifics, I really enjoyed the 'woosh' sound when Queenie and her friends were texting.
Speaking of her friends, I loved the group chat with her closest friends, and that it's called "The Corgis" - get it? The Queen loves her corgis! I'm obsessed with the mere fact that she placed all of her best friends, (who didn't know each other, but knew Queenie), into a group chat with each other. Barring Cassandra blaming Queenie when her boyfriend was cheating on her instead of being mad at own boyfriend, (which I found infuriating!), there is a real theme of women supporting women in this book, and I think that's so important.
I also love that Queenie deconstructs the "Strong Black Woman" stereotype. She has hard times, and she allows herself to feel whatever she wants to feel. She doesn't feel obligated to be strong, or with it all the time, and I think it's incredibly important for young Black women to see this.
Quite early on in the book, her Jamaican grandmother says "Look, if you are sad, you have to try not to be." - this really captures the mindset of many Black women who feel like they have to fit the "strong" stereotype. Later on in the book, her grandmother reminds Queenie of their cultural rejection of therapy, and this shows how difficult it can be for Black women to break away from this mindset, and accept that they can and should get help, if they need it. Her grandfather does end up convincing her grandmother to let her go to therapy - and by the end of the book - her grandmother has learnt the recommended anxiety techniques Queenie has been taught and reminds her of them when she's struggling. I absolutely loved this. There's quite a big focus on mental health and depression, and these parts of the book are written incredibly well.
I think the references to the Black Lives Matter movement are incredibly poignant and educational. The book raises some incredibly important conversations, featuring a number of powerful quotes, such as this from Chapter 6.
"Another Black man died in America today. Police killed him."
"What was he doing?"
"What do you mean, what was he doing? He wasn't doing anything. He was driving, and even if he was doing something, doesn't mean he should be killed for it."
Chapter 16 is dedicated to Queenie and her friends attending a BLM protest, even though Queenie is afraid of crowds. This chapter is so difficult to read as you're so proud of her for going to the protest, but then SO disappointed for her when she's shut down from writing about the protest in the newspaper that she works for. She states quite early on in the novel that what she most wants to write about is "the killings of unarmed black men, at the hands of the police, modern day slavery" and other incredibly important injustices.
When she presents the idea to the board, she's told that it's 'too radical'. She's also met with the dreaded 'all lives matter' rebuttal, to which she intelligently replies "I don't think that any part of Black Lives Matter even hints that other lives are disposable." She still isn't allowed to write the piece and it's a real shame to see it being deemed a political topic, instead of a conversation about human rights.
What I didn't enjoy so much:
When talking about her memories with her ex-boyfriend, Tom, she recounts that he allowed his family to be casually racist towards her. Tom himself was very dismissive of her concerns by telling her that said family member is "from a generation where they said 'the n word' a lot." He even goes as far as asking her why she has 'always got to take these things so seriously'. I entirely understand the whole love is blind concept, but it seems wildly out of place to me that Queenie would still want to be with him after this, and continue to pine for him for over half of the novel after their break up.
She reveals towards the end of the novel that she solely dates white men, because she's scared of Black men, and has an irrational fear that they all hate her. I found this revelation confusing as throughout the book, she chooses to be with white men who treat her like they do actually hate her, so it's not executed well in my opinion.
During a therapy scene, she says 'us black girls. We have to know our place.' This was difficult to listen to. While it may have just been a relapse in judgement due to a breakdown of what she thought was going to be a fixable romantic relationship, I would hate for young Black girls to read and internalise that line. It goes against all of the good progress the characters make with accepting that Black women do not have to fit a mould.
Overall though - I absolutely loved the book, and would recommend it, but I would be lying if I said it didn't leave me with some questions.
What's on your BLM to be read list?! xo
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