Such a Fun Age Review

So far, Such a Fun Age is the only Booker nominated book I’ve read (well I read Tyll, nominated for the International Booker), but I am already rooting for it to win. I was completely sucked into Emira’s world and her relationships with her employer, her boyfriend, her friend group, and her babysitting charge, Briar. I read it in three sittings — a feat considering I was also devouring the excellent The Glass Hotel at the same time.

Reid crafts three-dimensional characters with believable flaws, which is something not everyone can do. Even characters we only interact with briefly, seem complete and complicated. The interactions of Alix and her other mom friends are so real and so disturbing. After the incident at the supermarket, Alix decides she wants to become friends with Emira, and the support of her friend group is downright creepy. They are also close with their sitters! They share their intimate lives with them! I wanted to shake Alix and explain that, with the power imbalance of employee-employer relationships, you cannot really be “friends.” And Rachel, stop asking your sitter to get you plan B. She’s not paid enough for that. It’s weird.

It’s highly entertaining to watch the well-intentioned train wreck of Alix’s “friendship” and meddling unfold, but there is also the unpleasant gnawing thought of “wait, am I like that???” which is worth examining. It’s funny, thoughtful, and engaging and I would definitely recommend it.