The Other Black Girl
By Zakiya Dalila Harris
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ 8/10
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
(8/10)
354 pages
What’s it about?
Nella Rogers is a hard working 26-year-old editorial assistant. She is a young Black woman trying to work her way up in the all-White world of publishing in New York City. Nella is pleasantly surprised to look up one day and see that another black woman has been hired as an editorial assistant. Soon she will wonder if this is a good thing for her career or not…What did it make me think about?
How much I don’t know….Should I read it?
I don’t even know where to start on this book. It seemed to have so many different threads going all at once. Some of the threads were amazing and some of the threads seemed disjointed to me. Having said that- Ms. Harris has written a really interesting and inventive novel. I am really glad I read it and although it didn’t all work for me I would highly recommend it. One of my favorite aspects of this novel is the glimpse Ms. Harris gives us into the world of publishing. Lots to think about in this novel!Quote-
“But there’d been something profound in those moments. Something intangible. This something was in the look that her friends gave her when she told them how many hours she’d spent sitting between her mother’s legs watching he 227 marathon the had been on TV One that weekend (then explaining what 227 was); it was in the nature of this elongated physical contact that most non-Black teenagers didn’t have with their mothers, but she did. And it was in the little things such contact -however many hours of time she’s spent with hands in her hair- taught her about the women in her family. Hair-care regimens, passed down from both sides. Patience, until the fine line of impatience settled over the whole scene like a bad odor. Perfectionism.”
What’s it about?
Nella Rogers is a hard working 26-year-old editorial assistant. She is a young Black woman trying to work her way up in the all-White world of publishing in New York City. Nella is pleasantly surprised to look up one day and see that another black woman has been hired as an editorial assistant. Soon she will wonder if this is a good thing for her career or not…What did it make me think about?
How much I don’t know….Should I read it?
I don’t even know where to start on this book. It seemed to have so many different threads going all at once. Some of the threads were amazing and some of the threads seemed disjointed to me. Having said that- Ms. Harris has written a really interesting and inventive novel. I am really glad I read it and although it didn’t all work for me I would highly recommend it. One of my favorite aspects of this novel is the glimpse Ms. Harris gives us into the world of publishing. Lots to think about in this novel!Quote-
“But there’d been something profound in those moments. Something intangible. This something was in the look that her friends gave her when she told them how many hours she’d spent sitting between her mother’s legs watching he 227 marathon the had been on TV One that weekend (then explaining what 227 was); it was in the nature of this elongated physical contact that most non-Black teenagers didn’t have with their mothers, but she did. And it was in the little things such contact -however many hours of time she’s spent with hands in her hair- taught her about the women in her family. Hair-care regimens, passed down from both sides. Patience, until the fine line of impatience settled over the whole scene like a bad odor. Perfectionism.”
Nella Rogers is a hard working 26-year-old editorial assistant. She is a young Black woman trying to work her way up in the all-White world of publishing in New York City. Nella is pleasantly surprised to look up one day and see that another black woman has been hired as an editorial assistant. Soon she will wonder if this is a good thing for her career or not…What did it make me think about?
How much I don’t know….Should I read it?
I don’t even know where to start on this book. It seemed to have so many different threads going all at once. Some of the threads were amazing and some of the threads seemed disjointed to me. Having said that- Ms. Harris has written a really interesting and inventive novel. I am really glad I read it and although it didn’t all work for me I would highly recommend it. One of my favorite aspects of this novel is the glimpse Ms. Harris gives us into the world of publishing. Lots to think about in this novel!Quote-
“But there’d been something profound in those moments. Something intangible. This something was in the look that her friends gave her when she told them how many hours she’d spent sitting between her mother’s legs watching he 227 marathon the had been on TV One that weekend (then explaining what 227 was); it was in the nature of this elongated physical contact that most non-Black teenagers didn’t have with their mothers, but she did. And it was in the little things such contact -however many hours of time she’s spent with hands in her hair- taught her about the women in her family. Hair-care regimens, passed down from both sides. Patience, until the fine line of impatience settled over the whole scene like a bad odor. Perfectionism.”
