I have always been a great admirer of the stories crafted by Joyce Carol Oates. Her ability to bring to life some of the most remarkable characters and spin captivating tales is truly remarkable. This particular story is no different.

It centers around Genera, the daughter of a wealthy and prominent family. Her college roommate is Minette, an extremely religious individual who unfortunately falls victim to racial prejudice. Genera's parents, being war protesters, have not exactly been the ideal parents.

The story also delves into the life of a lonely Genera, who endeavors to become Minette's friend and at times, her protector. It has a somewhat dark undertone, but then again, so many real-life stories are filled with darkness that often goes untold.

Oates masterfully weaves together the complex lives and relationships of these characters, creating a narrative that is both engaging and thought-provoking.

Black Girl/White Girl begins rather clumsily.

However, upon reflection, I believe Oates had difficulties in characterizing two such socially awkward girls. Both of them strive to attract the attention of their larger-than-life fathers, yet their other life experiences vary significantly due to class and race.

Most notably, the black character, Minette Swift, reminds me of Cedric Jennings in A Hope in the Unseen. They were both top students at their Washington DC public schools, but both struggle on multiple levels in college. The narrator, Minette's white roommate Genna Hewett-Meade, grew up in a wealthy family and attended a private school, so the rigors of college do not intimidate her.

Also, in retrospect, I can observe how Oates utilizes foreshadowing throughout the novel. It starts with Minette's overreaction to a cracked window. Oates drops hints here and there, such as Genna's witnessing of a man's self-evisceration and an article Minette has saved detailing the gruesome lynching of a man who might or might not have been her relative. These ultimately lead to the deteriorated physical and mental health of both girls. However, it was challenging to see this path until I completed the novel.

This is a book about the current situation.

Generally, this book attempts to cover the 1970 - 1980 period in the USA.

During that time, every person suffered from racism and other social issues.

The story revolves around two students, "Minette" and "Genna".

Fifteen years ago, in 1975, Genna Hewett-Meade's college roommate died a mysterious, violent, and terrible death. Minette Swift was a fiercely individualistic scholarship student, an assertive - even prickly - personality, and one of the few black girls at an exclusive women's liberal arts college near Philadelphia. In contrast, Genna was a quiet, self-effacing teenager from a privileged upper-class home, self-consciously striving to make amends for her own elite upbringing. When, partway through their freshman year, Minette suddenly fell victim to an increasing torrent of racist harassment and vicious slurs - from within the apparent safety of their tolerant, "enlightened" campus - Genna felt it her duty to protect her roommate at all costs.

Now, as Genna reconstructs the months, weeks, and hours leading up to Minette's tragic death, she is also compelled to confront her own identity within the social framework of that era. Her father was a prominent civil defense lawyer whose radical politics - including defending anti-war terrorists wanted by the FBI - would profoundly impact his daughter's perspective on life and later challenge her deepest convictions about social obligation in a morally ambiguous world.

So bizarre and strange indeed. Once again, I find myself completely at a loss as to what Joyce is attempting to convey to us through her work. I truly don't know what possessed me to persevere with this book and not simply DNF (Did Not Finish) it the moment I noticed the first red flag.

-Spoilers-

Essentially, there are two main plots in this book. The first one pertains to Minette Swift, the MC's black roommate. The second one is about the psychological and other consequences that the MC endures due to her parents' way of life and the way they raised her as a child.

I was really intrigued and invested in the second plot. I have always admired how Joyce writes about dysfunctional dynamics within families and the subsequent feelings of insecurity, alienation, and so on that the members of such a family start to develop and display from childhood onwards. She truly knows how to write about internal conflict and intense emotions in a very eloquent, delicate, yet heart-rending way.

The first plot, in my opinion, was really not necessary at all. If Joyce truly wanted to include it in the story, she could have easily made it cover at most half of the book and not throughout. I understand that she used Minette Swift as a means for the MC to reflect on herself and look back on her life, but she does it in such a bizarre and erratic manner that most of the time I just found myself thinking 'What on earth is happening right now?'

Another aspect that really bothered me was the way Joyce characterizes Minette. She does so using words and descriptions that, to me, are just blatantly racist. I understand that perhaps she did this to reflect the MC's own ignorance, but it just went way too far. This isn't the first time that Joyce, through a privileged - and for whatever reason 'ignorant' - white caucasian character, describes the black character(s) using animal analogies and offensive words and phrases (somehow from an 'innocent' and 'naive' position MER). It has reached the point where I'm really beginning to question her motive for using the theme of race and racial conflict in her books.

(*That super weird and completely insane part where the MC's father has a photograph poster of a literal lynching of a black man in his study that he showed the MC when she was like 10 years old.)

So, so, so bizarre and disgusting. Really, nothing in this book redeemed it for me. The only reason I gave it 1 star is because of the snippets we got of the MC's family life, and even then I wouldn't call it'redeemed' or an enjoyable book in any way whatsoever.

When Oates is on, she is truly remarkable.

She has written an outstanding book in this instance.

In this country, we will never be able to forget the issues of race or Vietnam.

And she skillfully reminds us of both in the tragic portrayal of human existence that she chronicles so adeptly.

Her writing has the power to make us confront these difficult and often overlooked aspects of our history.

It forces us to look beyond the surface and see the deeper meaning and significance of these events.

Oates' ability to weave together the personal and the political, the individual and the collective, is what makes her work so engaging and thought-provoking.

She has a unique perspective on the human condition, and she uses her writing to share that perspective with the world.

Overall, her book is a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the complex and often painful realities of our society.

There were certain moments when I truly relished reading this book. However, there were also other times when I felt that it was rather disjointed and rambling. I struggled to establish a connection with the main characters and their views on life during the 1970s.

I understand that there was more depth to this story than just the relationship between the two college freshmen. Nevertheless, the significance of these additional elements wasn't overly clear to me. In the end, I was left with the impression that the only thing binding the two main storylines together was the timeline.

This was the very first novel I had the opportunity to read by Joyce Carol Oates. I can't say that I adored the book, but at the same time, I didn't despise it either. I'm still undecided as to whether I'll explore any other works by this particular writer in the future.

I initially thought that I was truly going to have a great liking for this. The reason being that after reading the synopsis, it appeared to be an excellent murder mystery that delved into race relations during the civil rights movement. However, it turned out to be nothing like that at all.

One aspect that really disappointed me was that it prematurely gave away the fact that Minette Swift was going to die, and this occurs right at the very end. I firmly believe that a restructuring of the plot would have significantly enhanced the story. For instance, if it were presented in an almost reverse manner, with her death happening at the beginning and then the events being told through a series of flashbacks.

Moreover, I also found some of the descriptions rather inappropriate. Take, for example, the description of someone's mother's hair as "erotic". This is simply unacceptable and makes me conclude that this aspect of the writing needs serious improvement.

It was just okay, but I didn't have a deep affection for it.

Firstly, I listened to it in the form of an audiobook, and perhaps that was part of the issue. I discover that books lacking a captivating plotline are challenging to listen to; it simply failed to fascinate me.

However, beyond that, I found the narrator rather difficult to connect with. I just couldn't fathom her fixation on her roommate. I continuously wondered why Jenna (I'm not sure if that's the correct spelling) couldn't pick up on the hint that her roommate didn't desire to be "sisters," yet Jenna persisted in pushing. It was strange and rather off-putting.

This made it hard for me to fully engage with the story and the characters. I felt a certain disconnect throughout the listening experience. Maybe if I had read the book instead of listening to it as an audiobook, my perception might have been different. But as it stands, it just didn't quite hit the mark for me.

So this book is one of two things that leave me with vastly different feelings.

On one hand, it could be seen as a bait and switch. The book initially seems to be about the relationship between two female college roommates, one black and one white, in the 1970s, with mysterious racist bullying that leads to the death of the black roommate, Minette (revealed right away). However, it really turns out to be more about the white roommate Genna's messed up family life and her guilt regarding her father's past actions. If this interpretation is correct, then both young women are quite unlikeable in a very ordinary way. The author's scattered use of flashbacks and quotes in a confusing style to support an "unreliable narrator" aspect doesn't seem very useful either. In this case, the book would deserve a lower rating from me.

On the other hand, the book could be cleverly using the unreliable narrator as a device. There is plenty of evidence to show how messed up Gemma is due to past incidents, such as traumatic childhood experiences and a very dysfunctional relationship with her parents. This leads her to befriend her black roommate, but when Minette rejects her, Gemma becomes unhealthily obsessed and ultimately takes horrific racist actions against her. Later, while dealing with her guilt about exposing her father's past crimes, she is also grappling with - but hiding - her guilt about how her actions led to Minette's death. If this latter interpretation is correct, then the focus on the father drama can be seen as a microcosm of Gemma's own drama with Minette. In this case, the book would be a masterwork, with the only flaw being that it is so subtle that most readers might miss the point.

What I don't know is which of these interpretations is correct. Is the first one too simplistic? Is the latter one just wishful thinking? And is this ambiguity a strength, showing the author's complexity, or a weakness, indicating that the author didn't quite succeed in pulling off the novel as well as she could have? I'm not sure. So I give it a 3 and I'm left feeling unsettled by this book.

I thought this was an interesting story.

However, it was a bit hard going and slow in certain places.

The pacing seemed to lag, which made it a bit of a struggle to get through at times.

Moreover, the characters were not particularly likeable.

They lacked the charm and depth that would have made me really engage with them on an emotional level.

Throughout the entire reading experience, I had this nagging feeling that I was missing something.

As if there was some hidden layer or deeper meaning that I just wasn't quite able to grasp.

Despite these drawbacks, there was still something about the story that kept me reading, perhaps hoping to uncover that elusive something that I felt was lurking beneath the surface.

Overall, while it had its flaws, it was still a story that managed to hold my attention to some extent.

Set against the backdrop of racial inequalities and religious differences at an American college in the mid-70's, this is a truly complicated story.

The protagonist, the White Girl named Genna, is inexplicably drawn to her room-mate, Minette. Genna does everything in her power to befriend Minette, who seems rather indifferent.

However, a series of events unfold, and instead of leading to a resolution, Minette begins to withdraw further and further from Genna and from the world. It's as if the more Genna tries to reach out, the more Minette retreats into herself.

The racial and religious tensions of the time add an extra layer of complexity to their relationship. Genna, perhaps naively, believes that she can overcome these differences and form a deep connection with Minette. But Minette's experiences and her own inner turmoil make it difficult for her to open up.

As the story progresses, we are left wondering what will become of their relationship and how Minette will ultimately deal with her isolation.

The title of this book is rather misleading.

It is narrated from the perspective of the white girls, which contains certain elements of racism and an unrequited friendship.

The white girl has a strong eagerness to be liked by everyone, while the black girl is extremely outspoken and rude.

This story mainly focuses on the dysfunction within the white girl's radicalist family, especially her father, and her resulting guilt.

I discovered that all the characters in this book were not likeable.

The premise of the story was actually quite good, but it just failed to meet my expectations.

In fact, I would rate this book a 2.5.

It seems that although the author had an interesting starting point, the execution did not fully bring out the potential of the story.

The portrayal of the characters and the handling of the themes left something to be desired.

Perhaps with some improvements in these aspects, the book could have been more engaging and thought-provoking.

However, as it stands, it is a somewhat disappointing read.