For those of you that haven't or couldn't attend book club lately, we're publishing this months' discussion questions here. All previous book club selections have been posted, complete with summary, discussion questions and, when necessary or appropriate, additional resources to better understand the topic or context. Here are the questions from our current title, Such a Fun Age. We hope these questions spark discussions of your own.
Such a Fun Age
by Kiley Reid
Summary:
A Best Book of the Year:
The Washington Post • Chicago Tribune • NPR • Vogue • Elle • Real Simple • InStyle • Good Housekeeping • Parade • Slate • Vox • Kirkus Reviews • Library Journal • BookPage
Longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize
An Instant New York Times Bestseller
A Reese's Book Club Pick
"The most provocative page-turner of the year." --Entertainment Weekly
"I urge you to read Such a Fun Age." --NPR
A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.
Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right.
But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix's desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix's past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.
With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone "family," and the complicated reality of being a grown up. It is a searing debut for our times. -- Publisher Description
Discussion Questions
Reading Group Guides Discussion Questions
SUCH A FUN AGE is told from the perspectives of two highly different women: Emira and Alix. How did the narration impact your reading experience? Did you relate more to one woman than the other? Did that change as you read the novel?
After Kelley takes the video of Emira in the grocery store, she asks him not to release it. Did you understand her request? What would you have done if you were in her position?
The question of parental vs. parental-figure relationships is pivotal in this story. How does Briar’s relationship with Emira differ from that with her mother? How do Emira and Alix each relate to Briar in turn?
While the “age” in the title recalls childhood, the novel is very much about Emira’s pivotal age and her experience as a 25-year-old learning how to be a grown-up. Talk about some of Emira’s challenges, as well as her freedoms. How does her experience compare or differ to your own?
An unexpected person links Emira and Alix. What was your reaction when you realized the connection? How did it make you view Alix differently? Emira?
Kelley is the first to point out the racist accusations against Emira, but at times, he seems to forget they have very different experiences, whereas Emira is always aware of it. Talk about the moments where they don’t seem to communicate well about their specific perspectives.
Kelley and Alix have a fraught history. Do you think Alix is right to blame Kelley for many of her issues growing up? Do you think Kelley’s perception of Alix as spoiled and privileged is fair?
Alix devotes herself to befriending Emira, but Emira only sees Alix as her employer. At the end of the day, did you find their relationship to be anything more than transactional? In what ways do each of the women try to either maintain or disrupt that boundary?
Toward the end of the novel, Alix is confronted with the possibility that she had not acted in Emira’s best interests. Do you think Alix meant well by getting involved in Emira’s situation? Do her intentions ultimately matter?
The last chapter follows Emira in the years after the incident at the Chamberlains’. In what way did things change, if at all? Did anything you learned about Kelley, Alix or Briar surprise you?
There are many uncomfortable, but relatable, moments in SUCH A FUN AGE. In what ways did you see your own experiences reflected in this story? How did you feel seeing them explored through the characters?
Legacy Foundation Discussion Questions
In the supermarket scene, the security guard's suspicions are quenched when Emira calls the toddler's white father. What does that say about the unfairness of people of color still needing to legitimize their existence through their associations with white people in social situations?
The story incorporates many instances of systemic prejudice based on privilege, class, and race. Talk about a time that you encountered systemic prejudice. What is your reaction when you observe racism taking place?
The character of Alix is depicted as a social media mogul who is hyper conscious about her image. How is this character’s image relatable in the context of our “filtered” social media lives?
Alix thinks that Emira perceives her as "textbook rich white person," while Emira thinks her privileged employer views her with the annoying curiosity usually reserved for exotic species. What does that say about preconceived notions people have when interacting with someone who do not share their ethnicity?
Alix is portrayed as the kind of white person who pats herself on the back while keeping a tally of the number of African American guests that would be present on her Thanksgiving table. How effective was this scene in skewering white liberalism?
After Kelley takes the video of Emira in the grocery store, she asks him not to release it. Did you understand her request? What would you have done if you were in her position?
Do you think what happened in high school affected Alix and Kelley differently? Did it leave a lasting impression that carried over to the rest of their lives?
Were you satisfied with the ending? Were you hoping for a different resolution?
How did the narration impact your reading experience? Did you relate more to one woman than the other? Did that change as you read the novel?
Kelley is the first to point out the racist accusations against Emira, but at times, he seems to forget they have very different experiences, whereas Emira is always aware of it. Talk about the moments where they don’t seem to communicate well about their specific perspectives.
Alix devotes herself to befriending Emira, but Emira only sees Alix as her employer. At the end of the day, did you find their relationship to be anything more than transactional? In what ways do each of the women try to either maintain or disrupt that boundary? Is Alix’s desire to be friends linked to guilt from her past?
Toward the end of the novel, Alix is confronted with the possibility that she had not acted in Emira’s best interests. Do you think Alix meant well by getting involved in Emira’s situation? Do her intentions ultimately matter?