Title: The Other Black Girl
Author: Zakiya
Dalila Harris
Read by: Aja Naomi King, Joniece Abbott – Pratt,
Heather Alicia Simms, Bahni Turpin
Publisher: Simon
& Shuster Audio
Length:
Approximately 13 hours and 33 minutes
Source: Review
Copy from Simon & Shuster Audio.
Thank-you!
Nella Rogers is
the only black employee at Wagner books.
She dreams of being able to move up in the company from editorial
assistant and works hard at her job.
Nella is happy when another black employee, Hazel, starts at Wagner. What she doesn’t understand is how Hazel
becomes the star employee at Wagner books leaving Nella in her wake. After she receives a mysterious note at work,
Nella starts to wonder what exactly is going on. Who is Hazel and what is her goal?
The Other Black
Girl is a genre defying novel, but I think it’s best described as a slow burn workplace
drama that delves into microaggressions and office politics. I was intrigued by the storyline and what it
was like for Nella at her workplace and in her home life. Besides this primary story, there is a side
story going on where there seems to be a group of people that are trying to protect
Nella and another group that is out to get her.
I had to listen to
the ending two times and to be honest, I still don’t know if I quite understand
it. I was engrossed in the story but got
to the end and wasn’t quite sure what had happened, so I listened again and am
still confused. This is a four out of
five stars just for this reason. I
really enjoyed the story, but the end could have been fleshed out better. I think this would be a good book club novel
just to discuss the ending. I want to
talk to someone about it!
The book was
primarily told through Nella’s point of view but did have chapters with other
characters point of view. The narrators
were switched for each new character which I enjoyed. Aja Naomi King was the
main narrator as Nella (and a few others) and she was a great narrator. She changed her voice for some of the other
character’s (like Nella’s boyfriend Owen) and did a great job.
Favorite Quote:
“With heightened
awareness of cultural sensitivity comes great responsibility. If we’re not
careful, ‘diversity’ might become an item people start checking off a list and
nothing more—a shallow, shadowy thing with but one dimension.”
Overall, The Other
Black Girl is a good slow burn workplace drama with a surprise ending.
Workplace genre is a new one for me. Sounds very intriguing. Thank you for the review.
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued though disappointed that the ending took a couple of attempts and is still confusing. I think endings challenge most writers, but they shouldn't challenge readers as well.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a workplace drama.
Good review