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A review by serendipitysbooks
The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Kindest Lie opens on the eve of Obama’s 2008 victory. Ruth and her husband are a well-educated, financially comfortable Black couple. He is eager to start a family but she is uncertain because when she was 17 she had a baby that was put up for adoption. He’s upset she didn’t tell him sooner; she flees to her family home, somewhere she hasn’t visited in over 4 years and begins to search for information about her child.
While this was a perfectly fine book it fell a little short for me and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hope. What worked well for me was the exploration of the intersection of race and class - the ways the lives of working class Blacks and whites were similar and the ways they’d diverged, plus similarities and differences between working class Blacks and those who were at least middle-class. The portrayal of a small town suffering from an economic downturn, and the scenes showing police attitudes and behaviour towards Blacks were also well done. The family drama component of the plot also worked reasonably well. I may not have agreed with the way Mama handled the baby’s adoption but I understood her motivation, and Ruth’s reaction when she learnt the truth of it.
Where I struggled especially was with Ruth who often seemed selfish and self-centred. Some of that could perhaps be put down to her struggles as a Black woman from a poorer background and for having had decisions regarding her baby’s adoption made for her. However, the way she revealed herself to that child seemed inexcusable with the focus on her wants not his needs. Too often the book told rather than showed, and did so in a way that I failed to find convincing. Ruth’s friendship with Midnight is just one example. The ending also seemed a little too quick and neat to be satisfying or believable.
To reiterate, a perfectly fine book that didn’t fully click for me.
While this was a perfectly fine book it fell a little short for me and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hope. What worked well for me was the exploration of the intersection of race and class - the ways the lives of working class Blacks and whites were similar and the ways they’d diverged, plus similarities and differences between working class Blacks and those who were at least middle-class. The portrayal of a small town suffering from an economic downturn, and the scenes showing police attitudes and behaviour towards Blacks were also well done. The family drama component of the plot also worked reasonably well. I may not have agreed with the way Mama handled the baby’s adoption but I understood her motivation, and Ruth’s reaction when she learnt the truth of it.
Where I struggled especially was with Ruth who often seemed selfish and self-centred. Some of that could perhaps be put down to her struggles as a Black woman from a poorer background and for having had decisions regarding her baby’s adoption made for her. However, the way she revealed herself to that child seemed inexcusable with the focus on her wants not his needs. Too often the book told rather than showed, and did so in a way that I failed to find convincing. Ruth’s friendship with Midnight is just one example. The ending also seemed a little too quick and neat to be satisfying or believable.
To reiterate, a perfectly fine book that didn’t fully click for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Alcohol
Moderate: Police brutality