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A review by lololovesthings
Everything's Fine by Cecilia Rabess
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
1.5 stars.
"Everything's Fine" by Cecilia Rabess is, first and foremost, not a romance, and it was entirely mismarketed as such. It is an exploration of a toxic relationship between a white, conservative man who has no problem simultaneously flourishing in and ignoring a system that upholds white supremacy, and a progressive black woman who shrinks herself and falls into hypocrisy for the sake of a relationship with an imbalanced power dynamic that she should not be in in the first place, one that offers her comfort and security due to her proximity to the power that system upholds. The story seems to lack the conviction to take a firm stance on the issues it presents, instead, falling into the middle ground fallacy (where the truth falls in the middle of any argument). This book tries to make the audience understand both sides of the issues it presents. There can be no middle ground when someone's personhood and identity are on the line. There can be no "both sides" on issues of white supremacy. For some readers, the ending will come off as ironic, but for others, it will be affirming in the notion that everything *is* and *has been* fine when nothing could be further from the truth. We are meant to empathize with both characters, but I wound up hating them both. Josh does and says microaggression after outward aggression after gaslighty comment after overtly racist statement...and we're supposed to root for him to be with Jess because, why, exactly? Because he's a rich capitalist finance bro and he will keep her spineless and comfortable in a life where she is forced to diminish her thoughts and feelings and wants and needs and blackness and femininity so she can keep her proximity to the systems that oppress her? On top of this, they have virtually no chemistry with one another and seemingly hate (or at the very least, actively dislike) each other, which makes me wonder if Josh was only dating Jess because she's black! I struggled deeply to understand who this book's target audience was. It was very tiresome to read, and if I hadn't checked out the audiobook from Libby, I wouldn't have finished it. I don't think it's fair to the author that people have been rating this book 1 star without reading it first, but having read it, I almost wished I hadn't. I didn't find it to be ironic or sardonic, nor do I think it offers anything other than an excuse for brushing off people's racist tendencies under the guise of love or obligation. I'll say it again: there can be no "both sides" when it comes to racism. I can ascertain no deeper meaning here. I didn't like this book at all.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster, NetGalley, and Cecilia Rabess for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for my review.
"Everything's Fine" by Cecilia Rabess is, first and foremost, not a romance, and it was entirely mismarketed as such. It is an exploration of a toxic relationship between a white, conservative man who has no problem simultaneously flourishing in and ignoring a system that upholds white supremacy, and a progressive black woman who shrinks herself and falls into hypocrisy for the sake of a relationship with an imbalanced power dynamic that she should not be in in the first place, one that offers her comfort and security due to her proximity to the power that system upholds. The story seems to lack the conviction to take a firm stance on the issues it presents, instead, falling into the middle ground fallacy (where the truth falls in the middle of any argument). This book tries to make the audience understand both sides of the issues it presents. There can be no middle ground when someone's personhood and identity are on the line. There can be no "both sides" on issues of white supremacy. For some readers, the ending will come off as ironic, but for others, it will be affirming in the notion that everything *is* and *has been* fine when nothing could be further from the truth. We are meant to empathize with both characters, but I wound up hating them both. Josh does and says microaggression after outward aggression after gaslighty comment after overtly racist statement...and we're supposed to root for him to be with Jess because, why, exactly? Because he's a rich capitalist finance bro and he will keep her spineless and comfortable in a life where she is forced to diminish her thoughts and feelings and wants and needs and blackness and femininity so she can keep her proximity to the systems that oppress her? On top of this, they have virtually no chemistry with one another and seemingly hate (or at the very least, actively dislike) each other, which makes me wonder if Josh was only dating Jess because she's black! I struggled deeply to understand who this book's target audience was. It was very tiresome to read, and if I hadn't checked out the audiobook from Libby, I wouldn't have finished it. I don't think it's fair to the author that people have been rating this book 1 star without reading it first, but having read it, I almost wished I hadn't. I didn't find it to be ironic or sardonic, nor do I think it offers anything other than an excuse for brushing off people's racist tendencies under the guise of love or obligation. I'll say it again: there can be no "both sides" when it comes to racism. I can ascertain no deeper meaning here. I didn't like this book at all.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster, NetGalley, and Cecilia Rabess for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for my review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism