Danzy Senna

"As the twentieth century draws to a close, Maria is at the start of a life she never thought possible. She and Khalil, her college sweetheart, are planning their wedding. They are the perfect couple, 'King and Queen of the Racially Nebulous Prom.' Their skin is the same shade of beige. They live together in a black bohemian enclave in Brooklyn, where Khalil is riding the wave of the first dot-com boom and Maria is plugging away at her dissertation on the Jonestown massacre ... Everything Maria knows she should want lies before her--yet she can't stop daydreaming about another man, a poet she barely knows"--Back cover.

New People

Ending felt like being left in midair, but otherwise brilliant.

Jess Rez

Shona Tiger

** spoiler alert **
           What the...? What - where's the ending?

Anyway, the main character is really disturbing. Feels like watching a breakdown. Also, very "local" book; lots of references that are lost when you're a reader from a different culture.

But I'm really miffed, because there's no ending!

Amanda Wells

I'm torn about this book. On the one hand, there is a lot in here to like - discussion of race, racial identity, cultural norms, cult psychology, the specifics of Jonestown, crisis of self, marriage, relationships, etc. etc. etc.

But on the other hand, I had such a hard time feeling sympathy for Maria. She became someone who I didn't like at all. Towards the end, I did manage to step back and understand that her behaviours and thoughts are all being formed by a personal sense of crisis on a number of fronts. She doesn't have many close relationships - no attachments - and I can, in a way, relate to that sense of acting absolutely crazy, and being so untethered to 'normal' thoughts. 

I just felt that, at Maria's core, she wasn't a very good person. She seemingly has no sense of love for other people. She uses people, and she doesn't understand her place in other people's lives. 

I suppose my reaction to Maria indicates that the book itself is a good one. And it was written very well, balancing the heavy themes with a sense of forward momentum with little obvious plot to help things along 'easily'. I just didn't come away thinking "Oh I enjoyed that". So I wouldn't emphatically recommend it, but I wouldn't caution against it either.

Named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, VOGUE, TIME MAGAZINE, NPR and THE ROOT Named A 2017 BEST SUMMER READ BY Vogue • Elle • Harper's Bazaar • Glamour • Buzzfeed • In Style • Men's Journal • Bustle • Ms. Magazine • Pop Sugar • Newsday • The Millions • Time Out • Bitch • CNN's The Lead • The Fader "[A] cutting take on race and class...part dark comedy, part surreal morality tale. Disturbing and delicious." -People "You’ll gulp Senna’s novel in a single sitting—but then mull over it for days.” –Entertainment Weekly "Everyone should read it." –Vogue From the bestselling author of Caucasia, a subversive and engrossing novel of race, class and manners in contemporary America. As the twentieth century draws to a close, Maria is at the start of a life she never thought possible. She and Khalil, her college sweetheart, are planning their wedding. They are the perfect couple, "King and Queen of the Racially Nebulous Prom." Their skin is the same shade of beige. They live together in a black bohemian enclave in Brooklyn, where Khalil is riding the wave of the first dot-com boom and Maria is plugging away at her dissertation, on the Jonestown massacre. They've even landed a starring role in a documentary about "new people" like them, who are blurring the old boundaries as a brave new era dawns. Everything Maria knows she should want lies before her--yet she can't stop daydreaming about another man, a poet she barely knows. As fantasy escalates to fixation, it dredges up secrets from the past and threatens to unravel not only Maria's perfect new life but her very persona. Heartbreaking and darkly comic, New People is a bold and unfettered page-turner that challenges our every assumption about how we define one another, and ourselves.

Grace Gloria McCubbin

i had a good think about this book, and though i rated it 3/5 stars before, i’m going to have to bring it down to a 2. this is an ambitious book, and writing a character that arises so much frustration is a talent which must not be ignored. that being said… what was this book about? what did the jonestown massacre have to do with it? why was it introduced as a key theme but was barely mentioned? was she struggling mentally? what was the purpose of the ominous figures? why is she such a b*tch? why does she complain about EVERYTHING (ironic i know)? 
i truly think that this book had a lot of potential, and though it annoyed me it is a book i couldn’t put down. i just wanted to figure out what happened to see if it would make things make sense. alas, it didn’t.

New People

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