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A review by naitasia
Map of Ireland by Stephanie Grant
1.0
Setting 1974. Copyright 2008. This book did not need to be written.
I hate this book.
It’s extremely offensive and racially insensitive. I read the acknowledgments, did this author consult any black people or any non-white resources? Her portrayal of black people is abysmal & myopic. The MC is a tragic case of white savior complex wrapped in white privilege and selfishness and filled with excuses. This book didn’t need to be written. It’s just the author’s excuse to be racist and ignorant under the guise of “historical fiction.” Her heart probably skipped a beat every time she got to use the “n-word.” Every time she got to peg Jean as “one of those blacks.” Every time the MC, Ann Ahern, described Rochelle and used “black” as a modifier to depict the disgusting fetishization of black bodies - “black belly,” “little black breasts,” “that black skin,” “that black smell,” etc.
Furthermore, this didn’t need to be written because the author drops the plot in favor of her fetishization. It has very little to do with busing in Southie. Ann Ahern is obsessed with her new black French teacher and then suddenly she isn’t. She’s obsessed with Rochelle and the whole story about Jean becomes a side story and then Jean is gone. Ann gets so in her feelings that the black women don’t acquiesce to her, she burns their house down and gets them in trouble with the police. She refuses to repent in church or seek forgiveness and still reaches out to Rochelle who had to relocate as a result of Ann’s pyrotechnics and is mad Rochelle won’t give in. There has to be something wrong with those blacks for their subgroup and not wanting to forgive Ann, of course. Ugh. They spent all that time driving to The Cape and peeking into black lives and Ann didn’t develop as a person. The plot didn’t come to a close. It’s just some story about a whiny white girl not getting her way set in 1974 so she can use the “n-word.”
I hate this book.
It’s extremely offensive and racially insensitive. I read the acknowledgments, did this author consult any black people or any non-white resources? Her portrayal of black people is abysmal & myopic. The MC is a tragic case of white savior complex wrapped in white privilege and selfishness and filled with excuses. This book didn’t need to be written. It’s just the author’s excuse to be racist and ignorant under the guise of “historical fiction.” Her heart probably skipped a beat every time she got to use the “n-word.” Every time she got to peg Jean as “one of those blacks.” Every time the MC, Ann Ahern, described Rochelle and used “black” as a modifier to depict the disgusting fetishization of black bodies - “black belly,” “little black breasts,” “that black skin,” “that black smell,” etc.
Furthermore, this didn’t need to be written because the author drops the plot in favor of her fetishization. It has very little to do with busing in Southie. Ann Ahern is obsessed with her new black French teacher and then suddenly she isn’t. She’s obsessed with Rochelle and the whole story about Jean becomes a side story and then Jean is gone. Ann gets so in her feelings that the black women don’t acquiesce to her, she burns their house down and gets them in trouble with the police. She refuses to repent in church or seek forgiveness and still reaches out to Rochelle who had to relocate as a result of Ann’s pyrotechnics and is mad Rochelle won’t give in. There has to be something wrong with those blacks for their subgroup and not wanting to forgive Ann, of course. Ugh. They spent all that time driving to The Cape and peeking into black lives and Ann didn’t develop as a person. The plot didn’t come to a close. It’s just some story about a whiny white girl not getting her way set in 1974 so she can use the “n-word.”