I was intrigued by The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson the moment I read its title and saw the cover. It's a complex, well-written contemporary novel that raises more questions than it answers. A former journalist, I've heard Ms. Johnson's work described as focused on the intersection of race and class in the US, and that describes this thought-provoking novel so well.
Main character Ruth, a young urban professional in Chicago, is caught between the euphoria of Barack Obama's election as President and pressure from her husband to start their family. Serious talk of having a baby raises long-buried emotions and leads Ruth to celebrate Christmas in her hometown, a small Indiana city devastated when the primary employer closes its factory. Ruth reconnects with her brother, the grandmother who raised her, and childhood friends while also meeting people who will cause her to do things she didn't think were possible.
In some literary serendipity, I read The Kindest Lie immediately after 'Til I Want No More by Robin W. Pearson. Both were written by talented Black women early in their writing careers, each features a young professional who gave birth at age 17 but didn't raise their child to attend prestigious universities, and both novels were published on 02/02/2021. Despite these similarities, these are very different stories, but I'd be first in line for a conversation involving both of these authors.
Main character Ruth, a young urban professional in Chicago, is caught between the euphoria of Barack Obama's election as President and pressure from her husband to start their family. Serious talk of having a baby raises long-buried emotions and leads Ruth to celebrate Christmas in her hometown, a small Indiana city devastated when the primary employer closes its factory. Ruth reconnects with her brother, the grandmother who raised her, and childhood friends while also meeting people who will cause her to do things she didn't think were possible.
In some literary serendipity, I read The Kindest Lie immediately after 'Til I Want No More by Robin W. Pearson. Both were written by talented Black women early in their writing careers, each features a young professional who gave birth at age 17 but didn't raise their child to attend prestigious universities, and both novels were published on 02/02/2021. Despite these similarities, these are very different stories, but I'd be first in line for a conversation involving both of these authors.
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