The Other Black Girl
A couple of years ago, I read a popular book and mused that I would have liked it better if it had been released as serialized fiction, à la Dickens. With that book, what I was probably thinking in the back of my head was: This would be better on screen — like a miniseries. I liked the book “ok.”
BUT THIS BOOK! As I read the verrrrry mysterious and cliffhanger-y The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris, I often thought of serialized fiction as well. But not because I deep down wished I could just watch it. No, this novel with its psychological-thriller vibes brilliantly captures the NYC book publishing scene and its attempts at “handling diversity” by jolting and jarring readers.
An aside about serialized fiction: Some novels that we easily recognize today were first released this way. The Secret Garden, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and the Damned. “How” we read reflects the way we might process the written word. (Or spoken word, as is the case with audiobooks.) As serial fiction gained popularity, readers learned to read … and wait; read … and wait. Think about the “watercooler talk” that was going on as well as the ability to mull over an “episode” while waiting for the next installment! Without releasing her book in intermittent chunks, Harris is — I’d like to think — “teasing” her readers to perhaps read differently…and therefore process differently. The Other Black Girl has some pretty big time shifts, a touch of magical realism, and an awesome plot twist at the end. (Reviews are mixed about its efficacy; I LOVED it and thought it extremely powerful.)
I hope The Other Black Girl is a “lasting” novel — perhaps like some mentioned above. It’s got some potentially universal themes. (In this case, who dictates and/or coerces “membership” into a group?) But holding it all together is an illustration of — and insightful commentary on — how Black women navigate the workplace, how others perceive them, and the ways media companies (i.e. publishing) fumble to broach “diversity.”
The Other Black Girl reflects “real life” (just read my June 29 post) while taking readers on a super fun ride.
originally published on instagram