I think this one will be popular here. First, it’s got a tremendous cover.
Don’t read the promotional material because it makes a too neat but unsatisfying comparison for this novel that deserves more.
We might Queenie, the narrator of this novel, in flux. She’s visiting a doctor and being informed she’s recently had a miscarriage, which is vexing for her because she’s on a “break” from her longterm boyfriend/fiance, Tom. This news, and her current emotional turmoil, her group of friends, and her boredom at work send her into a kind of spiral. She’s a Black woman trying to survive in publishing in London. She’s got a less than satisfying job that refuses to allow her to write about subjects with any substance — she proposes a story on #metoo and is suggested to write about the success of the black dresses worn by women involved in #metoo — she asks to write about Black Lives Matters, and is reminded that, in fact, ALL lives matter.
And she signs up for OKCupid, only to find that apparently sex and fetishizing is all men seem to think about.
It’s a kind of harrowing book, but it’s also really really funny. It’s hard not to root for Queenie, even and especially when she’s not choosing well for herself. Everyone has an opinion about her choices and her life and worry about her, without asking her what she wants. She’s told constantly that she’s “too much” and well, maybe she is, but who isn’t?
(Photo: https://www.amazon.com/Queenie-Candice-Carty-Williams/dp/1501196014/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=queenie&qid=1555344114&s=gateway&sr=8-3)