This is one of those novels that will stick with me for a long time. "Head officially still spinning from the summer blockbuster that isThe Other Black Girl! This story was edited for radio by D. Parvaz and Samantha Balaban, and adapted for the web by Petra Mayer. In 2018 Nellas life begins to unravel. Perhaps the most telling sign of a great book is how many people have an opinion about itand a variety of them at that. @suzylew_bookreview, A post shared by Suzy Lew (@suzylew_bookreview) (opens in new tab). They all die, but he survives and gets through the entire night. Marketed as "The Devil Wears Prada meets Get Out," Zakiya Dalila Harris' new thriller novel, The Other Black Girl, has been one of the publishing industry's most talked-about and buzziest releases of 2021.Harris, who quit her job as an editorial assistant at the revered PRH imprint Knopf to write this book, has endeavored to address the racist history of book publishing through the . The book started out as a thriller and veered into horror, a la Rosemary's Baby or The Stepford Wives. I was reminiscing about the people I worked with and the office politics. It was just so much fun. Looking well beyond issues of race,The Vanishing Halfconsiders the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a persons decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins. Then the notes begin to appear on Nellas desk: LEAVE WAGNER. Its hard to believe its a debut. An Amazon Best Book of June 2021: One of the biggest books of the season is Zakiya Dalila Harris' The Other Black Girl, a debut that starts out as a simple, charming story about a young Black woman working at a prestigious publishing house (Harris worked at Knopf) and turns into something altogether different and unexpected.When another Black girl shows up to work at the publisher, the drama . You can follow her on Instagram @paulinajayne15. Thats people being people. 17 Passionate Book Recommendations From Your Favorite Authors, Nine June Beach Reads That Are Like Summer in a Book, What to Read Next: The Best Books of 2020. Or perhaps she will only become more human and feel the need to justify her existence with her contributions to the world. I just didnt know exactly how. I did not nail the ending on the first try. Exactly. Below is an edited version of our conversation. I have a few qualms that fettered my experience with the novel. Everything was happening. @lifeaholocislander, A post shared by Deborah (She/Her) (@lifeaholocislander) (opens in new tab). 2023 Vox Media, LLC. So the advance was huge. One of the best scenes in The Other Black Girl takes place in a salon, with dozens of women of different ages trying out new coiffures. With its keen observations of creative life in America today, as well as the joys and complications of being a mother and a daughter,Seven Days in Juneis a hilarious, romantic,and sexyashell story of two writers discovering their second chance at love. What do you think end up happening to Nella afterward? The book is set in the publishing industry, but it holds up a mirror to all of corporate America, displaying the microaggressions and class hierarchies embedded throughout. What will happen to Shani. Eric Garner was on my mind when I saw it, so the fact that the hero doesnt get confronted by a white cop was a moment of comic relief. Its what happens when Black women slowly learn what it means that 'all skin folk aint kinfolk.' She could have any role. I mean, it really goes into my own ideas that I have about I mean, it's not only publishing, I think it's a lot of industries that are mostly white where we commodify Blackness, where you only need this one version of this thing for this one purpose. I knew what was happening pretty early on, but there were some details that I definitely didnt guess. The star figured prominently in the Dominion lawsuit. Nella is the only black person in an all-white environment. Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. They make a difference into whether or not a place feels inclusive. It makes black people amendable when it comes to working with white people and removes any guilt. What did you think as you read that reveal? Released this month, the book follows two young Black women working at a lily-white fictional publishing house, Wagner Books. A lot of people were just not interested in talking about how we can help lower-level employees move up the ladder, how we can specifically help bring in more diverse voices. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Unable to stand by and watch Nellas conversion, Shani defies the Resistance and contacts Nella directly; however, the Resistance intercepts Shani before they can meet. The Other Black Girl (Atria) by Zakiya Dalila Harris debuted at #6 on The New York Times bestseller list in its first week on sale, and it's no wonder: The book is spot-on for our times.The novel drips with in-the-know wit, skewering "well-meaning" but clueless white book publishing executives while painting the day-to-day experience of BIPOC employees who have managed to penetrate the . The author, Zakiya Dalila Harris, does a fantastic job of creating a narrative that tackles some serious shit that is NOT talked about enough: microaggressions, racial alienation, racism, white-washing, and tokenism, just to name a few. Thank you! It also allowed my partner and I to move out of our tiny studio and into an apartment that had real rooms and doors. In Zakiya Dalila Harris's debut novel, The Other Black Girl, Nella Rogers is a young black editorial assistant at Wagner Books, an esteemed publishing company in New York City with a penchant for only hiring "Very Specific People who came from a Very Specific Box"the majority of Wagner's staff is white, middle class . Then the unexpected happens as Hazel becomes elevated in the company and Nella is being pushed outbut by who?!! Nella is excited to get to know her new co-worker and become friends, however, she soon receives a note saying, "Leave Wagner Now.". 2023 Cond Nast. My partner was like, What if it's the grease? And I was like, duh. On the other end, if you have a credit score of 740 or . They create imposter syndrome. (Im notorious for this lol.). Instead, she strives for dominance in the workplace and seems to be edging Nella out and alienating her from her boss and her colleagues. I didn't want it to just be [publishing magnate] Richard, an evil white man at the topwe've seen that before. But at the same time, she's also able to navigate this very white world of Wagner books in a very smooth kind of way that Nella actually doesn't necessarily navigate as well. Most recently, she was the Managing Editor at Coveteur, where she oversaw the sites day-to-day editorial operations. The best twists are ones that feel, in retrospect, almost inevitable. Manhattan. Nella escapes, but the following day at an important meeting, Nella realizes that Hazel has converted their guest of honor, a famous Black activist. I could see Keke Palmer. Want more stories like this one? Its such a part of us. Having another Black girl around doesnt mean an instant ally. Really intriguing and very original, with some interesting twists that make you question the price of progress and cost of sacrifice in order to get ahead." A lot of it is fiction. The revelation came from my partner, now my fianc. Defeated and somewhat relieved, Nella finally consents to conversion. THE OTHER BLACK GIRL By Zakiya Dalila Harris In an interview with BUILD Series, Stephanie Beatriz, who plays Rosa Diaz on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," spoke about her experience auditioning for two. That last Hulu adaptation I saw was Little Fires Everywhere. But she soon starts to suspect that Hazel is competitive with her. Harris, who worked as an editorial assistant at Alfred A. Knopf publishing house in Manhattan, draws together elements of literary realism and science fiction horror to deliver a novel in which office politics breed paranoia and natural haircare products condition more than dreadlocks. ", It's Hazel-May McCall, resplendent in locs, "every one as thick as a bubble tea straw and longer than her arms," a sharp marigold pantsuit and red patent leather ankle boots "that Nella would have broken her neck just trying to get into.". hide caption. Remembering one of fashions most problematic faves, Karl Lagerfeld. 5-Down, Eight Letters: Show that gave us New New York. It is not fair to market this book asDevil Wears PradameetsGet Outbecause its legitimately neither. The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris Critics' Opinion: Readers' Opinion: First Published: Jun 2021, 368 pages Paperback: Jun 2022, 368 pages Genres Debut Rate this book Write a Review Book Reviewed by: Tasneem Pocketwala Buy This Book About this Book Summary Excerpt Reading Guide Reading Guide Questions Nella knows that her comfortable yet dull middle-class upbringing doesn't offer her the same advantages as Hazel's cushier background. For my twist, I tried to go against some genre expectations and literary conventions. Meanwhile, occasional chapters seem to rise out of nowhere, but they are actual plot thickeners, devices that will ultimately take The Other Black Girl out of the realm of "office novel" and into another genre entirely, and finally toward a kind of sad and wholly earned brilliance. When Elle, battling depression, becomes . "This meant one of two things: One of her white colleagues had started using Brown Buttah. Plus, it's a 352-page book whose plot starts to kick off at the last 32 pages." At one point, Nella describes the drama about a junior staffer getting their own office (rather than an open cubicle) and I laughed to myself because I definitely remember discussions like that happening back in the day. NY 10036. Once the 'Other Black Girl' Hazel is hired it appears she will have an ally. I was puzzled in a bad way. I love hearing people talk about whether or not they saw it coming. At the beginning of Part 4 Diana recounts the chain of events leading from 1983 to 2018. At last, she'll have a co-worker she can lean on when it comes to the pressures she's felt, someone to take coffee breaks with and maybe even learn and get promoted with, a true equal. The Potential 2023 WGA Strike for Dummies. I did love that the story took place in The Publishing Industry. Are you prepared to sacrifice some parts of the story? I love Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I knew that hair would be the thing that connected Nella to Hazel because Nella had a really complicated relationship with her hair, just like I did. I could see her as [other characters] Diana or Kendra Ray, especially Kendra Ray. All of those zany hijinks that you see in an office when you're close with other people like that. I think you need to listen to the person who's being affected by it. Heres What Will Happen to Your Fave TV Show If Theres a Writers Strike. Marley starts talking to Ian Turner online and asks him where he lives. Book club questions for The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris will unravel all the key plots and character development in this twisty thriller. Weve already seen the main character get put through the wringer; weve already been satisfyingly horrified. And the endingIm still thinking about the ending. New York, I also added a prologue, where you see another woman dealing with the effects of the grease before you meet Nella. @this_kat_reads, A post shared by Kat (@this_kat_reads) (opens in new tab). She shares her concerns about how the only black character was written. I'm incredibly proud and fortunate to have worked on this film. Nella is 26. The two women become friends, and Nella vents about a book shes editing called Pins and Needles, which features a racist caricature of a Black woman. Hazel also ruins Nellas credibility by defending Pins and Needles in a companywide marketing meeting. It is a slow burn, but the pay off is well worth it. While they may be pretending not to know each other, they cant deny their chemistryor the fact that theyve been secretly writing to each other in their books through the years. Before Shane disappears though, she needs a few questions answered. One, the mis-execution of satire to call out racism in publishing. I knew that would be what connected them, but it's funny because the grease itself didn't become an actual part of the book until I was talking to my partner about it. I don't know how this would work. Check out my book club questions here. that put people in situations that seem really everyday and then get weirder and weirder and weirder. Paulina Jayne Isaac is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. Her Black coworkers from other floors seem to favor Hazel, and Vera asks Hazel to assume Nellas usual tasks. She is really kind of the poster child for Blackness in a lot of ways she comes from civil rights kind of royalty. One example is the I dont see color comment. The Black protagonist tries to save the white people in the story from zombies. I was still one of few, not many, and the only Black woman in editorial. The forthcoming book from 'We Are Not Like Them' authors Jo Piazza and Christine Pride asks the question: Who gets to make the choice to be a mom? Here's what our book club members thought about Colleen Oakley's latest novel. Shes fed up with the isolation and microaggressions in her day-to-day life, so shes thrilled when Harlem-born and cool-as-can-be Hazel starts working in the cubicle next to her. I wont get into all of the details, but he settled out of court. I thought there was so much good dialogue in this book, specifically the way that Harris wrote some of the conversations between Nella and her supposedly liberal white colleagues. It was George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and COVID-19, obviously. But the tide turns when Hazel becomes the office favorite and Nella starts receiving threatening notes urging her to leave Wagner immediately. Yeah. Angela BassettI feel like it's clear from the book that I love Angela Bassett. The most recent example: The Other Black Girl by first-time author Zakiya Dalila Harris, a former editorial assistant at Penguin Random House. It was more for the reader, because I want them to think about who they think would have left it for her. Nella attends an event Hazel organized at Curl Central, a natural hair cafe, where Hazel announces a joint initiative with Wagner Books owner Richard Wagner to create more equitable hiring practices in publishing. As Nella and Hazel's paths diverge, those paths might as well be clearly marked, not necessarily respectively, "Success" and "Authenticity." I wonder if it's because it's a spoiler, but I love talking about it because I do think it's really important. Nella and Hazel are at the center of Zakiya Dalila Harris's debut novel The Other Black Girl (full disclosure: Harris is the sister of our own Aisha Harris, one of the hosts of Pop Culture. Part 2 opens with a flashback to the October 1983 release party for Diana Gordons novel Burning Heart. When she starts to get notes on her desk that say 'LEAVE WAGNER. Subscribe now I knew for sure that there were going to be these two Black women in this very white workplace, and I knew there would be something wrong with one of them, Hazel that shed be off. When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but the eyebrows of the Black literati. Twenty-six-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers is tired of being the only Black employee at Wagner Books. What are your thoughts about the epilogue? Shani, who attended the event, reports her observations to the Resistance the following day. I felt numb. "When you are craving a loveable story with depth and true character developmentthis should be your next read.". The Other Black Girl traces the experiences of five Black women at Wagner Books from 1983 to 2018 to address subjects including systemic and internalized racism, Black female experiences, workplace privilege, and the role of media in racial representations. The Other Black Girl is a pulpy, joyous thrill ride of a book. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. And, to me, thats the beauty of this book.