Book Review: Yellowface by RF Kuang

Sometimes you read a novel so entertainingly over-the-top and unhinged, you just have to compliment the author for being so creative and having a wild imagination. And at the same time, you can totally see this scenario playing out in the real world. Thus, I give you my review of R. F. Kuang’s very clever and intriguing novel Yellowface.

When they both went to Yale, protagonist June Hayward and Athena Liu knew each other but they weren’t exactly besties. Years after graduation June and Athena’s lives have greatly diverged. While at Yale, June and Athena were both aspiring writers. June’s first novel sold a pittance and plans to release the novel in paperback was axed. Now June has a lowly job tutoring spoiled rich kids. Her writing career has been extinguished or at least has been put on the back burner.

Athena’s writing career, on the other hand, is white hot. Her debut book is a hit with both the critics and the reading public. Athena has just signed a major deal with Netflix. She is a media darling (it helps Athena is gorgeous) and she’s totally living large. And not surprisingly, June is pea green with envy and quite bitter over Athena’s success.

As Yellowface begins, June and Athena have met up again and the two are hanging out at Athena’s posh apartment after a night of drinking and revelry. Athena decides to make a post-drinking snack of pancakes. Athena starts to choke while eating a pancake. Despite June calling 911 (and her own efforts) Athena dies right in front of her. However, June’s attempt at heroics is quickly dashed when she finds a manuscript Athena had been working on. Athena used a typewriter so the manuscript is already in hard copy form. June steals the manuscript and takes it home with her.

Once home in her shabby apartment, June reads the manuscript. She finds out Athena was writing about Chinese labor workers in Britain during World War I. June realizes she has a great book on her hands and with a few edits she polishes up the manuscript even further. And then June comes up with a rather devious idea. She’s going to try to get Athena’s manuscript published under her own name. This could be June’s ticket to literary success. And Athena’s dead so it shouldn’t really matter, right? Right?

June sends the manuscript under her own name to her publisher. Her publisher loves it and the book, now named The Last Call, gets published. Only, it is published under the name Juniper Song. June’s full name is actually Juniper Song Hayward (yes, her parents were hippies), and because Juniper Song sounds rather Asian, it is perceived the book will sell if the author is deemed Asian. June, of course, is very, very Caucasian.

June’s book garners her a six-figure deal, and becomes a huge best-seller. Now June is getting a lot of accolades and is reaching literary success that just a year ago, she could only dream of. Now she’s the author the media wants to profile, and June believes she’s hit the jackpot. And she hopes she can keep this momentum going as she tries to work on another book while also doing the media circuit. Goodbye poverty and obscurity. Hello riches and fame.

However, it isn’t long before the validation of the book and June’s credibility is questioned. Online, people are starting to pick at her story, her statements to the press, and her public appearances at book events. These comments are brutal, and they begin to hinder June’s attempts at writing another book, which pisses off her publisher. Then one anonymous social media account accuses June of plagiarism (pretty accurate if you ask me). June begins to get terrified. She tries to everything to in her power to stave off the onslaught of outrage and social media cancellation. She panics and is paranoid. She even thinks she sees Athena stalking her. Is it Athena’s ghost? Did Athena fake her own death?

It isn’t long before June is figured out, and she gets hoodwinked into confessing her literary misdeeds by an editorial assistant from her publisher. This editorial assistant threatens to write a tell-all book about and it shakes June to her core. This prompts June to make a stab at writing her own memoir as a way of absolving her sins. But things get even further out of control for her. Does June get punished in the end? Or does she somehow go on totally unscathed? Hmm.

Though June is all together awful, I could not put Yellowface down. I kept reading it, totally caught up in June’s wrongdoing, and how it affected her and other people in her orbit. And as odious as June is other characters aren’t exactly noble themselves. Even Athena isn’t so perfect. As entertaining and gripping as Yellowface is, it also asks an important questions. Who gets to tell the stories? Can only Asian people write the stories of Asian people? Can a white person write about something out of his or her race, and treat the topic with grace and open-mindedness? Well, white people who aren’t named June Hayward maybe. And why in the 21st century, are people of color still seen as tokens? And let’s not forget an Asian author, R. F. Kuang wrote from the perspective of a white woman.

I also loved how Yellowface exposes the flaws of the publishing industry, the unhinged world of social media, and the jealousy of the writing community. Whether you’re familiar with this world, or just love a book that will keep you riveted, Yellowface lives up to the hype. I highly recommend it.

Book Review: Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant-A Memoir by Curtis Chin

Detroit, the Motor City, has a rich history. Detroit gave us the automobile industry and a roster of musical greats from Motown Records. And if you read my review of Amy Elliott Bragg’s excellent book, The Hidden History of Detroit, you know this city has a colorful past that goes beyond making cars and giving icons like Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye. Once upon a time, Detroit was even called “The Little Paris of the Midwest.”

But to be honest, my first memories of Detroit weren’t always favorable. Detroit’s automobile industry began to flail in the 1970s with the launch of foreign cars, especially those made in Japan. And Motown Records left chilly Detroit for sunnier and warmer climes in Los Angeles. Detroit experienced riots, racial strife, violence, and urban decay. But what was it like to come of age in that Detroit? Writer Curtis Chin knows. And he writes about this in his memoir Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant.

Conceived in the summer of 1967 during the Detroit riots and born in 1968, Chin was one of six children of a large, extended Chinese-American family. His family restaurant, Chungs had been a mainstay of Detroit’s Cass Corridor, part of the second Chinatown. Chung’s had been in business since the 1940s and shuttered its doors in 2000. And it truly shaped Chin in so many ways.

By the time Chin was in grade school back in the 1970s, Detroit had seen better days. But it was all Chin knew at the time, and Chung’s was a bit of a sanctuary of the strife that plagued the city. After school and on the weekends, Chin spent a lot of time at his family’s restaurant, sometimes in a booth and sometimes helping out. It didn’t matter that he and his siblings were young children; everyone had to pitch in to make sure Chung’s runs smoothly.

Chung’s attracted an eclectic clientele. Politicians dined there including Coleman Young, the first black mayor of Detroit. The Jewish community liked to eat at Chung’s on Christmas day when most eateries were closed for the holiday. Chung’s attracted blue collar and white collar workers. It attracted drug dealers and drag queens. Chung’s pretty much attracted diners from all walks of life who shared one thing, a massive love of Chinese food.

One thing Chin’s parents did was have their children ask the patrons of Chung’s about their lives and backgrounds. This was great training for a budding writer like Chin and it has served him well. It gave him an education beyond the confinements of a classroom. It didn’t matter if you were a politician or a prostitute (like there’s a difference between the two). You got fed a delicious meal at Chung’s and your story mattered to the Chin family.

As the 1970s morphed into the 1980s, and Chin became a teenager, he became more aware of what was going on, not just in Detroit but throughout the country and the world at large. Race relations were always fraught, economic woes plagued the nation, and AIDS had become a real threat to the gay community. And it was the 1980s, when Chin also came to grips with his own sexual orientation as a young gay man. However, being a gay man in the still very homophobic 1980s didn’t stop Chin from being a young Republican. But don’t worry. Young Chin was more Alex P. Keaton from the 1980s sitcom “Family Ties,” than a member of the MAGA cult.

It was in high school and later at the University of Michigan, where Chin began his passion for writing and learned to hone is literary voice. It was also when he started to face the truth about his sexuality (along with some interesting dating stories), and seeing the true humanity of his Chinese-American family, all their triumphs, their setbacks, their strength, and their frailties. And just in case you’re wondering, Chin pretty much left the Republican party behind.

Chin isn’t shy about telling about the horrible things that happened within the Asian-American community of Detroit. He tells the story of one Vincent Chin (no relation), a Chinese-American man who was brutally beaten and later succumbed to his injuries the day before his wedding. At the time in 1982 there was a lot of anti-Japanese racism broiling, and Chin was assumed to be Chinese by his white assailants. The idea of a hate crime wasn’t really part of the vernacular back then but it was obvious Chin was beaten due to his race. This incident truly horrified Curtis Chin, and he really had to face the racism that could he would have to deal with himself.

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant is beautifully and honestly written. I truly felt I was there in Detroit during that particular time, and the descriptions of Chung’s food made my mouth water. Plus, I thought Chin using letters and numbers often found on a Chinese menu to note the different chapters wise quite clever (though it took a me a while to figure this out-oops). Chin’s story of coming of age, accepting himself, and the legacy of his family, all their faults and their legacy in Detroit truly interesting, and the pop culture references of Generation X truly resonated with me. Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant is one to enjoy and learn from, and will probably make you crave some Chinese food.

Retro Review: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

When the late Sylvia Plath’s novel The Bell Jar was released in 1963, it was considered groundbreaking. It focused on topics quite controversial just over 60 years ago, including ambition in young women in a time when women were supposed to desire only marriage and motherhood and dealing with horrifying mental health issues. Originally published under the name Victoria Lucas, Sylvia’s only novel is still considered a classic in the feminist canon. But how well does The Bell Jar hold up in 2024? I decided to read it and found out for myself.

Meet Esther Greenwood, raised in the Boston suburbs by her widowed mother, Esther is now in college, which is being funded by a wealthy local author. It is the summer of 1953, and Esther has procured an internship with the fictional women’s magazine “Ladies Day” in New York City. Though Esther’s days are filled with magazine-related activities, and her nights trying to socialize with her fellow interns, Esther feels disconnected and empty. She just can’t work up the excitement over this opportunity that most girls would give their eye teeth for. Esther is riddled with anxiety and depression. Can she shake out of this funk?

Several incidents occur during Esther’s internship that Plath goes into great detail to describe. Esther talks about the various assignments for “Ladies Day” the interns get to work on as well as the nice swag they all receive (not to mention the horrid food poisoning everyone gets at a luncheon). She also describes Esther trying to befriend her fellow interns like the flirtatious and sociable Doreen and the very pious and naïve Betsy, who Esther is more drawn towards. Esther also reminisces about the various scrapes she gets into when it comes to men, like when a local New York City radio host tries to seduce her, but later he decides to date Doreen. And towards the end of her internship, Esther is nearly raped at a country club party she attends with Doreen. Esther escapes but this causes her to throw out her new clothing and sends her further into despair.

After the internship ends, Esther returns to her childhood home. During this time, Esther is absolutely crushed when another scholarship opportunity, a writing course featuring a well-known author, does not come through. She is not accepted into this prestigious program. Esther tries to fill her time before school resumes in the fall by writing a novel. Yet, she thinks she lacks the life experience to write a proper book. And she also questions what her life will be like after she graduates from college. Up till then, Esther’s whole life has revolved around academics. Will she have a career or will so end up “just a wife and mother” as the fifties often dictated to women back then.

Esther continues to fall into deeper and deeper depression, not being able to sleep or attend to basic activities. She does see a psychiatrist for a while (whom she doesn’t exactly warm up to because she thinks he’s too handsome). And when this psychiatrist suggest electroconvulsive therapy, better known as ECT. The ECT doesn’t work, and Esther makes some half-hearted suicide attempt.

However, she does nearly die after she crawls into a cellar and takes far too many sleeping pills. When her mother can’t find Esther, it is assumed she has been kidnapped and possibly murdered, which the media takes note of. Once discovered, Esther spends time at several mental hospitals, the last one paid for by her college benefactor, the writer who is named Philomena Guinea. It is at this facility, Esther meets Dr. Nolan, a woman therapist, receives questionable treatments including insulin shots, and more ECT. She also meets another patient named Joan, and it is implied Joan is a lesbian who is attracted to Esther. Esther is not fond of Joan at all.

Esther also muses about her old boyfriend, Buddy. Buddy thinks the two might get married someday, but Esther won’t entertain the idea. Esther thinks Buddy is a hypocrite because he lost his virginity to another woman instead of staying pure for Esther. It is also found out that Joan also dated buddy (even though she may be heavily closeted).

During her sessions with Dr. Nolan, Esther bemoans the life women back then must lead and she wants to have the same freedom men have, which includes everything from having sex (Dr. Nolan suggest Esther be fitted with a diaphragm), and to have a full life outside of total domesticity. And as the The Bell Jar ends, Buddy visits Esther and wonders if he’s the cause of both Esther and Joan going crazy and ended up hospitalized. Perhaps he did have a part in it, but who cares? Esther is relieved when Buddy decides to end their non-engagement. Now she is free to really live.

While reading The Bell Jar, I could understand why it was so groundbreaking when it was published in 1963. It portrayed a young woman who had ambition beyond getting married and having oodles of children. It’s wonderful Esther is smart and has goals her life that don’t necessarily include marriage and motherhood solely. And as someone who has dealt with mental health issues, I appreciate a novel that spoke of one woman’s struggle and her fight to remedy herself.

However, in 2024, The Bell Jar just cuts different. For one thing, there is a lot of racism in this book. Esther talks about the ugliness of Peruvians and Aztecs. She also keeps referring to a Black orderly at the mental hospital as the Negro. He is never given a name or just referred to his profession as an orderly. Plus, I found Esther to be rather insufferable to the other women in the book whether it was her mother (who struggled greatly to raise her without Esther’s father) or looking down on a woman in the neighborhood who is raising a large brood of children.

Still, I do think The Bell Jar is an important work. Just keep in mind how things have changed since the fifties when it takes place, and in 1963, when it was published. And be grateful things have changed for women in the past sixty years…or have they? Hmm.

Book Review: Leslie F*cking Jones-A Memoir by Leslie Jones

With her star-making turn as a cast member of the iconic late night television comedy sketch show “Saturday Night Live,” and her recent hilarious stint as a guest host of “The Daily Show,” Leslie Jones a comedic force of nature. It seems like she came out of nowhere, and was an overnight success. But this overnight success of Ms. Jones was decades in the making. And Jones discusses everything from her childhood, to getting into comedy as a college student, to her success today in her honest and funny memoir, Leslie “F*cking Jones.

After a brief foreward by Jones’ fellow stand up comic and friend, Chris Rock. Jones gets down to business by first going down memory lane, and talking about her childhood. Leslies Jones was born Annette Leslie Jones in 1967. It wasn’t long before she abandoned her given first name and decided to go by her middle name, Leslie. She was a military brat, who along with her parents, and her younger brother, moved around the country.

Growing up wasn’t exactly a day in the park for the young Jones. She was picked on for being black, tall, and often, the new kid in town. She often dealt with abuse at home. She recalls kicking a puppy outside of a trailer when she was a little girl, and in hindsight, Jones believes this vicious act (which now horrifies her) was in reaction to feeling powerless. She had to dominate something, so she dominated this puppy in a brutal way.

But Jones did have something going for her. She excelled at basketball (it helps she’s six feet tall). This got her a college scholarship, but basketball and getting involved with a much older man was more important than going to class and acing her exams. However, it was in college, where Jones discovered comedy. She always had the ability to make people laugh, and being on stage was electrifying. It was from that moment, Jones knew she wanted to make comedy her career.

Of course, this comedy career didn’t exactly take off right away, and Jones dealt with a lot of struggles. She had to hold a regular job (not exactly easy or fun) while trying to get comedy gigs. Audiences could be welcoming or they could be brutal. She dealt with a lot of crooked managers, and didn’t always get paid properly for her performances. There is also a lot of animosity from some comics, but Jones also came close to some of them who showed her a lot of support and encouraged her to keep developing her comedy style and performance.

Jones also had to deal with family strife. Her parents had a less than happy marriage, and both suffered from severe health issues. Her mother was in a hospital from the time, Jones was a teenager. And both of them died when Jones was a barely an adult. It must have shaken Jones to lose parents when she was still so young. And her younger brother got seriously messed up and was dealing drugs. This lifestyle caught up to him and he died in 2009. Jones also dealt with shitty jobs, money woes, bad roommates, and even worse boyfriends. She also had a run in with the law.

It seemed to take forever, but Jones finally grabbed the gold ring of comedic success when she was hired by Saturday Night Live. She first started out as a writer, but was later made a cast member. She was funny and loud, and brought a new voice to the show. She also was cast in the all-female remake of Ghostbusters, and she is brutally honest about the horrific sexism the cast faced, and all the racism that was thrown at her.

Leslie F*cking Jones is raw and deeply candid. Jones never shies away from the rough stuff of growing up, being a black woman in comedy, and the ups and downs of her career. She’s made a name for herself in a business that is extremely tough. And love how much she appreciates all the people who have helped her along the way, and the friendships she still holds dear (her and Kate McKinnon are total besties.

Whether you’re a fan of Leslie Jones, or just want to know what it’s like to be a woman of color in comedy and show business, you can’t go wrong with reading Leslie F*cking Jones.

I Read It So You Don’t Have To: Rebecca, Not Becky by Christine Platt and Catherine Wigginton Greene

The novel, Rebecca, Not Becky by Christine Platt and Catherine Wigginton Greene is the tale of two Millennial age women, one white and one Black, as they navigate raising children, taking care of elderly relatives, managing their marriages, and dealing with the thorny topic of race, bigotry, and race relations.

Meet De’Andrea Whitman. She just left her successful career as a lawyer, and not by chance, and is now settled in Rolling Hills, Virginia with her husband Malik and their little girl, Nina. The Whitmans have moved to Rolling Hills to be closer to Malik’s mother who has dementia and is living in a care facility called Memory Village. The Whitmans used to live in Atlanta and found a sense of place within the Black community. De’Andrea stays in touch with her old Atlanta friends and doesn’t know if she can find a home in the very white Rolling Hills.

Now meet Rebecca Myland. She used to go by Becky, but with the name Becky being used as a euphemism for clueless basic white bitches. Rebecca is a stay at home mom who lives with her husband Todd and their two daughters Lyla and Isabella in Rolling Hills. And like De’Andrea, she also has a mother in law at Memory Village.

Rebecca is thrilled when she finds out a Black family has moved to Rolling Hills. She hopes to befriend the Whitmans, which will allow her to use all the knowledge she has gained when it comes to race as a diversity leader at her daughters’ school and as a member of an anti-racist book club. And it does come across like Rebecca might treat this black family as an experiment instead of seeming them as unique individuals.

De’Andrea is feeling adrift and depressed in Rolling Hills. She’s dealing with the heavy burden of running a household, raising Nina, and being there for Malike’s mother. De’Andrea feels useless without her law career and she misses her friends in Atlanta. Is she going to find a sense of community in the white bread enclave of Rolling Hills?

De’Andrea’s therapist comes up with an assignment. De’Andrea should try to befriend a white woman. Not surprisingly, De’Andrea is a bit apprehensive. She doesn’t want to have a friendship that feels forced. And can she really fit in with the privileged white ladies of Rolling HIlls?

But then De’Andrea’s daughter Nina becomes besties with Rebecca’s daughter Isabella. The two little girls have bonded in their kindergarten class. This means De’Andrea has to deal with Rebecca at school drop offs and pick ups, various school functions, and at play dates for Nina and Isabella.

At first, De’Andrea tries to keep Rebecca at arms length. But begrudgingly, she begins to get involved with some of Rebecca’s social activities and social circle. Rebecca can be a bit too much when it comes to being the “white savior.” And to be honest, De’Andrea comes a across as a bit stand-offish and narrowminded. But at times, it is quite understandable why she would question the motives of a privileged white woman like Rebecca.

But De’Andrea and Rebecca soon bond over similar life experiences. Both are dealing with raising children and elder care issues. Both are trying to keep their marriages strong. And both are trying to navigate the racial and social issues that affect Rolling Hills.

Then De’Andrea and Rebecca join forces to bring down a Confederate soldier’s statue in Rolling Hills. A lot of the town’s people also want to bring the offending statue down. But due to a place like Rolling Hills being in the deep South plenty of the town’s citizens want to keep the offensive statue up because or “heritage” or “history” or some rot. De’Andrea and Rebecca learn through all of this that people are stronger when they work together.

Rebecca, Not Becky, in the hands of better writers, could have really been a fantastic read. It covers many of the current issues we face today-race, bigotry, and social changes. It also covers the everyday issues so many women face-raising children, running a household, elder care, and trying to make their marriages thrive. But in the less capable writing talents of Platt and Wigginton Greene, these issues and situations never go very deep. Plus, when Rebecca, Not Becky goes into some intriguing story lines, the writing just putters out. It’s quite disappointing.

And there’s the two main characters, De’Andrea and Rebecca. I don’t expect characters to be flawless, but both ladies are not likable. Both of them come across as conceited and full of themselves. There’s a lot of name-dropping, slang that won’t age well, and vapid texts in place of decent dialogue. It’s as if both of these women were the real housewives of Rolling Hills rather than fully fleshed out characters who are compelling.

Rebecca, Not Becky is not to be read.

Book Review: By Her Own Design-A Novel of Ann Lowe, Fashion Designer to the Social Register by Piper Huguley

There is a reason why so many fashion shows end with a model wearing a wedding dress. Wedding dresses allow designers to delve deeper into using their artistry, creativity, and finely-honed technique into creating something truly beautiful and aspirational.

Whether happily single or someone who got married wearing a Juicy tracksuit, we can’t help but be drawn to wedding dresses. Many wedding dresses worn by famous people are completely iconic. There was Princess Diana’s puff pastry of wedding dress, which defined the over-the-top excess of the 1980s. And Caroline Bessette Kennedy’s spare, figure-hugging slip dress spoke of the 1990s minimalism style. And then there is my favorite famous wedding dress, the one Grace Kelly wore when she went from Hollywood royalty to actual royalty and became Princess Grace of Monaco.

One iconic wedding dress is the one worn by Jacqueline Bouvier when she married then Senator John Kennedy. Though the dress is easily recognizable even to people who are not followers of fashion, the designer of the dress isn’t as well-known. The designer was Ann Lowe, a black woman. Lowe never quite got her due from the press at the time of Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy’s nuptial’s. One publication refused to name her, and dismissively called her a “colored dressmaker.” Ann Lowe deserves so much more. And with Piper Huguley’s latest book on Ann Lowe’s life, By Her Own Design: A Novel of Ann Lowe, Fashion Designer to the Social Register, this talented woman is finally getting her flowers.

As By Her Own Design begins, Ann Lowe is facing quite the challenge. A pipe has burst in her New York studio. Jaqueline Bouvier’s dress has been ruined just as she’s about to become Mrs. John Kennedy. Many of the bridesmaids’ dresses have also been damaged. Though completely horrified, Lowe has faced many challenges. She knows she can remake the dresses, and enlists her beloved sister, Sallie, and her friends from a local church to help her repair and make the dresses over in time for the wedding. Lowe will not be deterred. As she begins her work, Lowe muses on her life, and how she got to this point in time.

Ann Lowe grew up in the Jim Crow South. She was raised by her loving mother and grandmother (her father was never really in the picture). Both of these ladies worked as seamstresses. They mentored and taught young Ann on sewing skills and design techniques. But Ann had a God-given talent that went beyond hemming a dress or sewing a button on a blouse. Ann was a creative visionary from the start. She was designing beautifully intricate fabric flowers when she was still in knee-socks.

Despite being smart, industrious, and artistic, Lowe never went far in getting a formal education. She never went to high school. Instead, she married a much older man when she was only twelve (only twelve, yikes), and had her beloved son, Arthur, when she was only sixteen. The marriage was not a happy one. Lowe’s husband was very abusive, and fortunately she was able to escape and get a divorce. She did marry again to a much more suitably aged man when she was a bit older.

Lowe never gave up her dream of designer and creating fashion, and always worked as a seamstress. Her work and talent got noticed, and soon she was designing clothing for upper crust women. She moved to Tampa for a while, where she was quite successful. A very generous benefactor believed so much in Lowe and paid for Lowe to be educated about fashion design at a school in New York City. This was a wonderful opportunity to learn and make connections in the the Big Apple’s fashion industry, but sadly, Lowe faced the same bigotry and racism she dealt with in the South. She was even segregated into a separate room from the white students during the lessons. Still, Lowe was one strong dame, and she made the most of what could have been a very negative situation.

Lowe decided to make her home base and her livelihood in New York. She beautiful designs caught the fancy of the very wealthy and elite becoming a very in demand couturier for the ladies of the Social Register. Even Hollywood movie stars wanted to wear Lowe’s designs. Olivia de Havilland wore one of Lowe’s gorgeous gowns when she accepted and Oscar for her role in “To Each His Own.”

Lowe was soon commissioned to make a dress for one young woman’s debut. That young woman was Jacqueline Bouvier. Lowe grew very fond of Jacqueline, and the two grew close. So it wasn’t too much of a surprise when Jacqueline asked Lowe to design and make her wedding dress. And though Lowe faced some challenges in the end, Jacqueline married Senator Kennedy looking stunning in Lowe’s beautiful creation.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading By Her Own Design. I learned so much about the talented Ann Lowe and why she’s so important in the world of American fashion, and why it’s so upsetting her work has been ignored for far too long. Huguley’s dialogue and story-telling are top notch, and she really gets into the spirit of Anne Lowe (and she brings Jackie Kennedy to life). She makes you cheer for Lowe’s success, and at the same time doesn’t sugar coat the obstacles and tragedies Lowe faced-racism, sexism, domestic abuse, the loss of her loved ones, money troubles, and health woes.

I want more people to know about Ann Lowe and her fashion legacy. Perhaps Netflix could do a movie or limited series on Lowe’s life. I believe By Her Own Design is the perfect springboard to make this happen.

Book Review: Sisters in Hate-American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism by Seward Darby

Sometimes I read books that totally piss me off. Not necessarily because they are horribly written; many times they are very well-written. I read books that piss me off because I yearn to understand people whose mindset is beyond retched. These people are equal opportunity bigots. They hate people of color, Jews, Muslims, recent immigrants, the gay community and transgendered people. Many of them are quite misogynist even though they may be women themselves. Seyward Darby examines these women in her book Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism.

Many men are at the helm of white nationalism, whether it’s the KKK, American Neo-Nazis, and any other hate groups throughout the United States. Men men like Nick Fuentes, Gavin McInnes, and Richard Spencer are currently the faces of white nationalism. Though many women in this movement sit on the sidelines and support the men, many women are become fully entrenched in white nationalism, and have made a name for themselves via their blogs, radio programs, articles and books, podcasts, and their social media.

In Sisters in Hate, Darby interviewed three women over several years, Corinna Olsen, Ayla Stewart, and Lana Lokteff. All of these women were born in 1979. And they all came to white nationalism in various ways, much of it having to do with 9/11.

Darby first profiles Corinna Olsen. Corinna life has been all over the place. She has worked as an embalmer and in violent porn. She was really into body building and even took steroids. Everything she did she did full gusto. That includes white nationalism. She got fully entrenched while living in the Pacific Northwest. Doing a radio show, which was hugely popular among racists and neo-Nazis. For her to get entrenched in this lifestyle, all she did was do some research on Google to hone her beliefs without using any critical thinking skills it takes to weed out the the dreck that shows up on the Internet. Interesting enough, Corrina left white nationalism and is now a devout Muslim.

Looks can be deceiving. Ayla Stewart has a cute dimpled face and wears dresses and head scarves. Her social media feeds show her doing domestic tasks with a sweet smile and her six children in the background. But don’t be fooled. Ayla is very proud to be a white nationalist, leaving an early life when she considered herself a feminist. Ayla promotes a traditional lifestyle, but it goes way beyond being a content SAHM. Ayla promotes strict gender rules and is intent on outbreeding people of color and non-Christians with her “White Baby Challenge,” encouraging white people to have many children.

Lana Lokteff’s parents escaped Communist Russia, and Lana was born in the United States. She married Henrik Palmgren who is at the helm of the white nationalist media company Red Ice where Lana hosts a radio show called “Radio 3 Fourteen.” She used to speak about the paranormal and conspiracy theories, but soon shifted to promoting white nationalism and the alt-right. She used to have a YouTube channel until she was banned several years ago. She has denied the Holocaust and Native American Genocide. And she admits her presence as a woman has gotten more women involved with white nationalism.

Though I was thrilled Corrina got out, and I wish her well, I was completely sickened by Ayla and Lana. Their all-consuming hatred of anyone different made me so angry. And sadly, Ayla and Lana are not alone. Women in white nationalism can be find all over America. And the internet has only increased their visibility, especially considering so many of them have a long reach though various media.

But visibility is one way we can confront these women and their vicious personal views and combat them. Reading Sister’s in Hate is just one way good people can face the feminine face of white nationalism, and save the United States before it’s to late. When you know better, you do better.

Book Review: Race and Reckoning-From Founding Fathers to Today’s Disruptors by Ellis Cose

In a time where people are freaking out over CRT being taught in grade schools (it’s not), hate crimes against people of color are too numerous, and Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida wants to cut AP African American Studies from high schools because he doesn’t think it has any educational value, Ellis Cose’s book Race and Reckoning: From Founding Fathers to Today’s Disrupters is a very needed and important book.

Race and Reckoning takes a very comprehensive look at the entities and actions and how they affected various races and America as a whole. Ellis muses on slavery, the New Deal, Jim Crow, the Covid Pandemic. He talks about the seminal labor and decisive resolutions that resulted in inequity, disinformation, and other problematic outcomes even in the modern age. And this labor and resolutions didn’t just affect people who were around when they were implemented. They have affected generations after.

Race and Reckoning examines America’s history, slavery, bigotry and exclusion of Asians, the removal of Indigenous people from their native lands and so much more. And America has prospered in the wake of this bigotry take advantage of the work of people seen as “lesser.” Even after people proved themselves and served their country, they still faced discrimination. African American soldiers and veterans were denied benefits that went to their white peers. Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during World War II. And we can’t forget how Black people were denied the right to vote in the days of Jim Crow.

Now in 2023, there are people who think racism is no longer a problem. We’re living in a post-racial world. After all, Barack Obama was President for 12 years. Vice President, Kamala Harris, is both Black and Asian. Certainly, she’s in a position of power. We have many more people of color who are successful and in notable positions in everything-politics, media, business, sports, and entertainment.

But to anyone who has been paying attention, we are not living in a post-racial world here in the United States. Racism is still so much a vile problem we are still dealing with. And Race and Reckoning explains this is a way that is both thought-provoking and maddening.

I got quite the education reading Race and Reckoning. This book filled in so many gaps that were lacking in my formal schooling. I recall learning about the Civil War, but truly learning about the horrors of slavery were barely mentioned. Instead, our class watched “Gone With the Wind.” Sure, that movie is a classic, but it’s hardly an honest depiction of slavery during the those times. I never learned about internment camps during World War II or the removal of the Indigenous people. I’m angry that my schooling was so lacking, but I’m very grateful for Ellis Cose’s Race and Reckoning. This book may not be on Ron DeSantis’ reading list, but it should be on yours.

Retro Review: 13th Gen-Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail? by Neil Howe and William Strauss with Ian Williams

As I mentioned in my review of Liz Prato’s book Kids in America, Generation X captured some attention in the 1990s. I remember there were quite a few books trying to figure Generation X out. Ha, as if we’d let them.

However, in the early 1990s, I read Neil and William Strauss’s book 13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?. And at the time, I found it to be interesting and quite infuriating. It just seemed as if the Gen X lifespan was filled with so much doom and gloom.

But why did Howe and Strauss label Generation X the 13th generation? Well, it’s because they were the 13th generation to know the United States since its inception. Also, unlike other demographers, Howe and Strauss did not consider 1965-1980 to be Gen X birth years. Instead, they considered Gen X birth years to be from 1961-1981. Twenty years!

Another reason why they used the number 13 is due to the idea that it’s unlucky (Friday the 13th, anyone?). And many Gen X-ers have dealt with a string of bad luck, especially as they came of age-family breakdown, crumbling schools, gang violence and the crack epidemic, AIDS, political malfeasance, the high cost of higher education, workplace woes, and several recessions. It’s as if Gen X was dealt a bad hand.

13th Gen is divided into three sections. Part One looks at how the generations preceding Gen X shaped and molded them and how we also compared to them, mainly the Greatest Generation, the Silent Generation, and yep, the Baby Boomers. It also takes a look at the historical experiences that affected Gen X from Watergate, Vietnam, gas shortages, the Jonestown mass suicide, Three Mile Island, the Iranian hostage crisis, the election of Reagan, AIDS, and the Challenger space shuttle explosion in 1986.

Part Two is named “The American Dream Has No 13th Floor.” This section takes a look at how various issues like race, sex, money, education, the workplace, and politics affects 13ers and 13ers stake and influence when it comes to these issues.

And in the third part, Howe and Strauss examine the 13er generation’s impact on America, especially when it comes to pop culture. Remember, this book came out in the early 1990s as grunge and hip hop were becoming popular. Howe and Strauss also peer into their crystal balls and predict where the 13th generation will be as they head into middle age in the 21st century.

Howe and Strauss aren’t alone in it’s examination of 13ers. Actual 13ers, most notably Ian Williams, crash into Howe and Strauss’s digital conversation (this is when the internet was in it’s infancy) to give their two cents. Or should I say their 13 cents? The crashers waste no time telling Howe and Strauss what it is like to be a 13er, the good, the bad, and the ugly. And Ian has fun sharing his favorites when it comes to pop culture.

13th Gen is filled with fun illustrations by Robert John Matson, various factoids and lists, and compares 13ers with other generations who were stuck with a bad reputation, but turned out to be pretty awesome in the end.

For the most part, I enjoyed reading 13th Gen when I first came across it in the 1990s. I got the vibe that Howe and Strauss truly wanted to understand my generation. And I appreciated their lack of stereotypical Boomer condescension. And I really liked the crashers adding their unique voices, especially Ian Williams, who used to have a blog I read.

But reading 13th Gen decades later is also enlightening. And it’s interesting how the prediction for my generation played out now that we are in our 40s and 50s. Did Howe and Strauss’s predictions turn out to be true? Well, to me, I think my fellow 13ers need to read this book and make up their minds.

And as for the term 13er? Well, I used it for a brief time, but you can’t go wrong with a classic like Generation X.

Book Review: Kids in America-A Gen X Reckoning by Liz Prato

Generation X has always been in the shadows. When we were younger, baby boomers grabbed the spotlight and never let go. They still seem to dominate media, business, and politics, especially, politics.

Okay, for a brief moment, sometime in the 1990s, Generation X had a moment to shine. We had grunge, the TV show “Friends,” and that Gap khakis swing commercial. But this moment didn’t last long, and once again, we were in the shadows. Nipping at the heels of our Doc Martens were the more noisy and populous millennials. Raised on Lunchables and participation trophies, millennials wanted to be noticed, and noticed they were. Most of us Gen X-ers went back into the shadows with misty memories of a time when MTV showed actual musical videos. Whatever.

Now for the most, Generation X accepts being ignored, and just goes about doing their thing, whatever that may be. Most of us hate to be defined and we certainly hate to be pigeonholed. No wonder marketers and the workplace ignore us. They just can’t figure us out.

But lately I’ve noticed a lot of Generation X-ers are saying, “Hey, we do exist!” and are creating podcasts, TikTok videos, and Gen X groups on social media. And I think it’s wonderful. Generation X-ers may be hard to figure out, but we have lived unique lives. Maybe it’s time for our stories be heard.

One of those Gen X-ers is writer Liz Prato whose voice should be heard, and she writes about her Generation X experiences in her book Kids in America: A Generation X Reckoning. Kids In America is a very personal collection of essay about coming of age at a particular time (1980s-1990s), and how it affected her as a Gen X-er.

Liz Prato grew up in Denver and graduated from Kent Denver Country Day in 1985, a private prep high school. She admits she grew up with privileges denied others, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t faced any challenges or strife.

In Kids in America, Prato examines issues that were considered verboten when Gen X-ers were kids and coming of age, and writes about them with more clarity and the wisdom that comes with age. These issues include race, rape and sexual assault, mental health, family strife, and the odd messages we got from the pop culture we consumed.

In two separate chapters Prato relays the stories of two of her former classmates, Mina, who is Native American, and Alicia, who is Black. Years after graduation, Prato reconnects with both women and learns what it was like for both of them to be young women of color at a school most filled with upper class white kids. Though both Mina and Alicia admit they received good educations, they always felt like “other” at Kent Denver County Day.

Prato also examines the issues of rape, sexual assault, and the often murky communication between men and women when it comes to romance and consent. In “Sixteen Candles,” the geek allegedly had sex with a passed out drunk girl who couldn’t give permission, and at the time it was considered just teenage hijinks. And let’s not forget how so many of us swooned when Luke and Laura got married on “General Hospital.” Somehow the fact that Luke raped Laura on the floor of a disco didn’t necessarily put the kibosh on all the romance. We thought it was true love. We thought wrong. Prato also calls out a teacher who groomed, manipulated, and had sex with several of his female students in another chapter.

Mental illness and family strife is also observed in Kids in America. In one heartbreaking chapter, Prato describes in painful detail about her brother’s battles with mental illness. When Gen X was growing up, mental health issues were something whispered about and people rarely got the treatment they needed and deserved. Prato also talks about a friend’s brother getting caught up with a group of racist skinheads. Was he racist himself? Perhaps, but maybe what he was looking for the most was acceptance, which he got from these people. As awful as racist skinheads can be, I think a lot of us can relate to wanting to find a sense of belonging.

But not all essays are totally serious. Prato talks a walk down memory lane when it comes to the iconic TV Show Beverly Hills 90210. For one hour, viewers were immersed in the trials and tribulations of Minnesota transplants, Brandon and Brenda Walsh, and their friends at West Beverly High School. In issues of race, the West Beverly gangs attempts to be “woke” was both cringeworthy and very simple-minded. And the topic of sex was usually handled with double-standards. It was maddening when the Walsh parents gave Brandon an “Atta, boy!” when Brandon lost his virginity to his old Minnesota girlfriend, and how Mom and Pop Walsh branded Brenda a fallen women because she slept with her boyfriend, Dylan. It didn’t matter she was in love with him and they used protection. Brenda Walsh. What a slut!

Perhaps not all of Prato’s essays will totally connect with Gen X readers. A lot of us didn’t go to prep schools, and many never saw an episode of Beverly Hills 90210. But the issues she writes about are probably issues quite a few Gen X-ers have contemplated. Maybe it’s time to have a conversation about these matters.