Three and a half. The highly productive Oates once again takes on significant issues in Black Girl/White Girl.

Most of the reviews I've read here have recognized the disappointing plot development. It moves away from the relationship between white girl Genna Meade and her black freshman roommate Minette Swift. Indeed, the plot does deviate from them. However, and this is crucial for understanding what Oates is attempting to do, it does so to express the equally complex relationships between Genna and her family, as well as Genna and herself.

As a late-stage twist reveals, Genna is both (obviously) the white girl and (less obviously) the black girl/white girl pair of the title. This idea is subtly supported by a couple of points. The narrator (usually first person limited, through Genna) refers to Genna in the third person at times. Later in the book, Genna slightly changes her name, accepting the Meade legacy that she rejected in college.

To overlook the layered complexities of the plot and moral ambiguities within (such as the functions of law and religion and how they operate) is to miss the point. Things are not black and white; each is both, and in-between.

On the negative side, the book accelerates wildly at the end, in a way that is unsatisfactory considering the size and depth of the themes Oates is trying to address. It is also unclear how the relationship between the characters in the final scene is intended, aside from blatantly redrawing the white girl/black girl parallel.

Some of the political themes and occurrences in the book would pair well with Phillip Roth's American Pastoral, which I believe confronts them in a more complex manner.

Black Girl/White Girl by Joyce Carol Oates presents a captivating narrative set in a liberal arts college in 1975. The story revolves around two co-eds, one white and the other black. In this predominately white college, racial tension still simmers beneath the surface. However, race is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the differences between the two girls. I penned this review several months after delving into the book. I vividly recall relishing it, despite certain sections that were emotionally taxing to peruse. For instance, when the black roommate fell victim to racial graffiti and violence, it tugged at the heartstrings. Additionally, there was an air of mystery intertwined within the plot. Alas, I cannot recall with certainty if I ever fully grasped the mystery. All in all, it was an okay read that offered a glimpse into the complex dynamics of race and friendship in a college setting.

This story turned out to be entirely different from what I had expected.

The psychology of Minette Swift was portrayed so sympathetically that one wonders if it was a first-person account or the person herself. It was truly remarkable how the author delved deep into her character's mind and emotions.

What came as a revelation to me was the subplot which became the most important one about the radical leftists of the sixties. The political background has been interwoven into the narrative in a way that you are aware of it as a cross current throughout the book. It added an extra layer of depth and complexity to the story.

I must read up all other novels of the author. I wish someone writes about the present in such depth so our children can read about these times when they are grown up to appreciate it. It is essential to document and preserve our history and experiences for future generations.

I really enjoyed this book, even though I wouldn't claim that it represents Joyce Carol Oates at her absolute best.

Nonetheless, I was truly impressed by her portrayal of race and, especially, her perceptive analysis of white privilege. It felt extremely accurate and highly relevant in today's society. I was truly amazed to realize that the novel was written in the early 2000s and not in the present day.

The story revolves around two first-year university students who live in the same residence. One is a white girl from a privileged background. Her parents are both left-wing, and her father is a human rights lawyer. The other is a black girl from a very conservative, religious background. The white girl's family is rather dysfunctional, while the black girl comes from a loving, close-knit family. Race does indeed become an issue, but it is not the ultimate surprise of the story. As is always the case with Joyce Carol Oates's stories, there is something completely unexpected and captivating that keeps the reader engaged until the very end.

I don't understand it. Just like another reviewer, I found the author's obsession with oily black skin and greasy nappy hair to be quite annoying. Maybe that's the way it's supposed to be. Genna had liberal parents and a father who seemed to protest for civil rights and emphasized "White Guilt". Perhaps the author wrote in this way to stress Genna's white guilt. Something that stems from a complete lack of knowledge, from never having been around any Black people to truly know who they are. Having certain expectations about what constitutes Blackness and being confused when none of those expectations are met.

Genna seemed to expect something from Minette. She wanted Minette to play the role of the tragic minority, to lament her Blackness and her American experience. To say, "All is forgiven between my people and yours, let us embrace, my Sister!" I'm not sure exactly what she expected of Minette, but throughout their time as roommates, Genna was constantly observing Minette, analyzing the way she spoke, her "helmet hair", the smell of her hair grease, the foods her mother baked, the pictures, posters, and Bible on Minette's desk, the muscles of Minette's legs, as if her roommate were some rare archaeological discovery rather than another human being. Maybe if Genna had behaved normally instead of going to great lengths and trying to find some way to relate to Minette, they could have been friends. Minette knew. We know. I know when someone is trying to befriend me because they've never had a Black friend - they try too hard and it's frankly obnoxious and insulting.

Anyway, I assume that throughout all this, Minette was doing those things to herself, like the nasty messages and such. And that she killed herself, whether intentionally or accidentally, with the candles she lit too close to the curtains.

I find this book truly powerful, even though I'm only giving it 3 stars.

The psychological portraits of Minette and Genna are, in my opinion, quite realistic. However, there's an excessive focus on Genna's father in the story, which is rather disappointing.

For me, it's evident that both girls are living under the expectations of their families. Minette is an unhappy pious Christian, while Genna is a young girl who attempts to act with her black roommate in a way she believes her parents would be proud of (her family is known for fighting for the rights of black people).

Throughout the book, we see two very different girls, each suffering in their own way, perhaps for the same reason: expectations.

Genna is constantly worried about her roommate. It seems as if she feels compelled to be around her like a mother, but I think her personality stems from the lack of affection from her own parents. What I see is an abandoned girl who tries to be around her roommate as if she can't bear to see someone as lonely as she has felt in her own family. That's the way I perceive Genna. She's the opposite of her parents: protective, committed, and overwhelming. Sometimes I wondered if she wasn't in love with Minette because she's really obsessed with her roommate, who seems to feel nothing but disgust towards Genna.

On the other hand, Minette is a person who appears to be truly loved by her family, but she's cold, distant, rude, bad-tempered, and fragile. She works hard to assist her father, a priest, but it's clear that she's going insane from so much work, so many expectations (but not her own passions), and her own race (she seems to have no issue with being black, but at the same time, she "attacks" herself as if a black girl should be martyred). She's really the most interesting character in the story.

Needless to say, the end of the story is not a happy one, but that's something that's already stated in the synopsis. However, it's at the end of the book that Genna reveals that the main story isn't about Minette (well, it was obvious that all that boring nonsense about her father had a reason). And for me, that's been the big mistake of Carol Oates. She writes an interesting story (albeit with some irregularities and a lot of uninteresting details), and then, after 92% of the story, she tries to convince you that the important story is the remaining 8%. She tells you about the father's mistakes in five minutes, but who the hell cares about Max? What people really wanted to know was more about Minette!

Simply brilliant. This concise phrase holds a world of meaning. It implies a level of excellence that is truly remarkable. When something is described as simply brilliant, it means that it stands out from the ordinary, shining with a unique光芒. It could refer to a creative idea, a masterful performance, or an outstanding achievement. The simplicity of the expression adds to its impact, making it all the more powerful. It suggests that the brilliance is not overly complicated or convoluted, but rather straightforward and easy to recognize. Whether it's a work of art, a scientific discovery, or a moment of inspiration, being simply brilliant is a quality that is highly sought after and greatly admired.

Absolutely incredible read!

The author does an outstanding job of vividly portraying two girls who are away at college for the very first time. One is white and comes from a privileged background, while the other is black and from a lower-middle-class family.

Without spoiling the story, it is a profound examination of the breakdown in communication, understanding, and many other aspects. By the end, you can't help but shake your head in sympathy for both girls.

This book is an absolute must-read for anybody. It offers valuable insights into the complex dynamics of human relationships and the challenges that young people face in a diverse and often divided society.

I have decided to keep this book and plan to read it over and over again. It is truly a psychological powerhouse that will leave a lasting impact on your mind and heart.

Unlike some of Oates's other books, this one is completely approachable. I really enjoyed the act of reading it, even though the story moves at a rather slow pace.

Many of the negative reviews seem to be focused on what this book is not. It is not a mystery, and it is not "a searing double portrait of race and civil rights in post-Vietnam America" as described by the blurb. In fact, I read this book from the perspective of White Fragility.

The book is written in the form of a documentation of Genna Meade's remembrance, fifteen years after the fact, of her Schuyler College roommate, Minette Swift, who dies in a fire in 1975. Minette and Genna are incredibly different. Genna comes from a very wealthy and well-known family. Her grandparents founded Schuyler College, and her father Max is a high profile and controversial activist lawyer. She is not attending Schuyler on scholarship, she is pale and freckled, she is not religious, she is well-liked and generally receives good grades, and her family is non-traditional. Genna seems to be a blank slate. Other than guilt and her struggle with her family, it isn't always clear exactly who Genna is. She has this insane, privileged, elitist idea that she is in a position to save Minette, again because she is approaching her relationship with Minette from a racial and socio-economic perspective. She never loses focus on how they are different, how Minette is "other". Genna is an unreliable narrator, and we as readers are not meant to like her or admire her. She represents the failure of the liberal well-meaning elite.

Minette, on the other hand, comes from a very religious family. Her father is a preacher, she struggles to get good grades at Schuyler, she does not have friends, and she is one of the few Black students on campus. Minette does not care what the other girls think of her; she is not impressed by Schuyler. This book is about these two girls' marginal friendship. It is specifically about them and is not a political novel, as Oates confirms in the interview at the back of this edition. This is a book about friendship and about morality, about the choices we make as individuals and how these choices shape our future.

**spoiler alert**

If indeed death has a "ritual significance" as in a tragedy, what role does Minette's death play? Oates indicates that Minette's death is a sacrifice. It is as if Minette must die because she does not fit into the white ideals of how a Black girl should feel/behave in this privileged setting. There are other Black deaths mentioned in this novel. There is the photo of a lynching in Max's study, the Black security guard who died in a Dow Chemical explosion, and the Black beating and burning of a Swift man as recorded in Minette's journal. These are all deaths of innocent people by the hands of white people asserting dominance, but Minette's death does not seem to be this. Very likely her death was because she was careless with candles, unaware of her surroundings, and taking too many Codene. Genna believes herself partially to blame, because she saw how dangerous the candles were and said nothing because she wanted to be liked. Genna is obsessed with Minette. She follows her around, she reads her journal, she shuffles through items on her desk, and she so desperately wants to be her friend that she doesn't do the right or best thing for Minette. Some of her obsession might be because Genna is struggling to define herself and her own personality. Genna could not save Minette.

Many of Oates's books are about the desire for the love of the father. Both Minette and Genna desperately want to please their imposing fathers by doing well at school and becoming successful.

In Wonderland, gluttony was a symbol of power over one's physical self, a constant expansion meant to represent power, a revolt against the prevailing ideal of beauty. There was nothing attractive about it. Minette's weight gain was also very ugly. Her clothes were often stained with food, and her room was infested with ants. She ate things she wasn't enjoying, including the flat, warm soda the evening of her death. This eating represented her complete lack of caring about what others thought of her. Note that she often also went without bathing.

A multilayered work with meanings deeper than what it superficially shows. While closing it, it left me with a sense of dissatisfaction…for 2 days it was on my mind and I realized that this particular story explores many themes and its literary value lies in the questions it poses to the reader regarding justice, ethics, social inequality, political belief, political and social rights, psychological oppression and traumas, etc.

The writing of Out is complex as it skillfully alternates between semantic writing and factual writing. It uses words and expressions in such a way as to depict deeper concepts behind the superficial description. Black and white do not only refer to the color of the skin but approach social and political extensions. The dialogues and thoughts are depicted in such a way that ultimately convey much more to the reader than what is said.

The story consists of two almost parallel stories that unfold in the 1970s in America. One story concerns two teenage girls who have a controversial relationship at the university. Two completely different girls who try to coexist in an environment, at a university, where there are deeply rooted racial and social inequalities. Their relationship often goes through crises of doubt, two girls who try to understand their role, their identity in a world with social and racial differences. Friendship, social isolation, depression, independence, faith, racism, mental health, guilt are themes that the story of the girls deals with.

The other story concerns the father of one of the teenagers (white) and reveals the ethical and political tolerance and guilt. It poses crucial questions regarding the ethics of lawlessness with the ulterior motive of a better society with fewer inequalities.

A book…food for thought.

There's a certain allure of good Scandinavian noir to this piece.

It is uncomfortable, yet gripping, assuming intelligence in its readers, as things are seldom what they initially seem, including the very subject of the story.

It progresses in a ricocheting manner and, in some respects, appears to leave out things that we anticipate and prefer, such as a deeper exploration of some of the characters.

However, our lack of knowledge mirrors that of the narrator's. In the hands of a lesser author, this could be nothing more than shoddy craftsmanship. But this is Joyce Carol Oates, a highly skilled and accomplished writer.

Therefore, I believe those omissions are essential, even though some might prefer to read a more conventional telling.

Oates's style here challenges the readers and makes them engage with the story on a different level, forcing them to fill in the gaps with their own interpretations and imaginations.

This adds an extra layer of depth and complexity to the narrative, making it a truly unique and captivating read.

Needless to say, this book is wonderfully written.

I have a great admiration for her similes and metaphors. In some respects, she reminds me of Toni Morrison, a renowned literary figure.

This particular book is not merely about the characters. Instead, it delves into much larger issues concerning race and politics.

The author is masterful in the way she deals with these complex issues. However, I actually wish she had dedicated more time to the actual plot.

Perhaps Minette's death could have occurred in a slightly different manner.

Moreover, the obsessive nature of Genna starts to become a little tiresome after a while.

Overall, despite these minor critiques, the book is still a remarkable piece of literature that offers profound insights into important social issues.