The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

I was told that this book was a "somewhat thriller" which I very much regret hearing. But, even though I had been warned that this story would not finish the same way it started, I was no less caught up, surprised, and completely drawn into what seemed like a sudden, genre twist. The book starts out reading like a literature fiction story, spelling out the troubles, nuances, and complexities of being the only black woman, and person, in one modern corporation in New York City. And just to be clear, even without the horror element of this book, the narrative of the main character, Nella, is enough to drive the story. Her thoughts, her paranoia, her analysis of daily life, everything has what can only be described as honesty written into each word. As readers, and as human beings, there is never any real way to tell if an author is speaking from experience or imagination, or more one than the other, but here, every word sounds like it holds so much truth, that the story ends up being more striking than ever. This being said, the horror, really appealed to me. As a Stephen King fan and a thriller fan in general, this gripped me more than ever. The slow, almost maniacal descent into paranoia, confusion, and suspicion Nella falls into is so well drawn out, that even by the time the horror is really upon her, I didn't fully understand the gravity of it. And once the evil really is directly confronted, it's too late, and you've already been tricked into finishing the once "normal" story. 

Notes: While I really admire Nella's strength and her fierce personality and drive, almost sadistically, I wish Harris would have driven her even further into madness. broken her down even more. By the end of the book, Nella's spirit is depleted, the antagonist has won, and Nella has lost. But before this defeat happens, I would have loved to see what Nella does to torture herself, and how Hazel, the antagonist, would react to this even more. The pleasure that Hazel derives from Nella's breakdown is something I would really have loved to read more of. Hazel's evil, her cunning, her brilliance, and her conflict with what Nella stands for are something that I would read and reread over and over. 

I can imagine this book getting a similar backlash to Ace of Spades, where the racism outlined in the book is so outlandish and supernatural that it makes everyday racism seem excusable, or at least less severe than it actually is. But Harris' inclusion of all the way racism impacts Nella in very subtle, and not-so-subtle ways, counteracts the negative effects of a fantastical element. In essence, this narrative is riveting, witty, and entertaining, all while acting as justifiable exposure of racism in modern corporate America.