Nobody's Magic

September 1, 2021

Sheltered young Suzette, finally experiencing romance; Maple, shattered by the murder of her high-spirited mother; and Agnes, working an exhausting job far from home and possessed of powers that surprise her--all are Black women with albinism living in Shreveport, LA; all are exemplars of women dealing gracefully with grief; and all appear in this debut novel from award-winning poet Birdsong. With a 30,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2021
Poet Birdsong's fiction debut: three novellas about African American women grappling with their families' and communities' attitudes toward their albinism. They come from very different backgrounds in Shreveport, Louisiana. Suzette is the spoiled daughter of a wealthy car dealer, still living at home at age 20 because her controlling father doesn't want her to go to college or get a job. Six years out of college, Maple is still drifting among dead-end jobs and taking handouts from her mother, a good-time gal whose income currently comes from a drug-dealing boyfriend but whose past includes stripping and porn. Agnes fled poverty in Shreveport for Fisk University, graduate school, and a lectureship at Vanderbilt, but she's now 34, unemployed, and broke, grading high school essays in Utah for a pittance. Nonetheless, the three novellas show each woman shaped by her skin and people's reactions to it as central facts in their development. Suzette's story, Drive, is an overlong coming-of-age tale with a fairly predictable denouement redeemed by a poignant depiction of a sheltered girl: "Everything that's happenin around me is about me. But don't nobody wanna tell me wha's goin on." Maple's odyssey in Bottled Water is a more interesting saga of devastating loss and grief overcome with the help of a man who has his own experience of bereavement to deal with. Maple's Momi is a fabulously vital character, inappropriately open with her daughter about sex and drugs but lovingly accepting of the white skin that Maple--like Suzette--thinks makes her undesirable. We see in Mind the Prompt that Agnes' experiences of being mocked for her skin color in high school by her social-climbing sister have scarred her emotionally to the extent that she can't keep a job and lives with an abusive man, but even this keeningly sad tale offers hope in a denouement that shows Agnes, like Suzette and Maple, tentatively embracing a new beginning. A thoughtful examination of a subject rarely addressed in contemporary literature.

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Starred review from April 2, 2022

DEBUT The three novellas comprising this debut fiction from noted poet and essayist Birdsong each features an albino Black woman as its main character. In the title piece, a coming-of-age story in which a father exerts total control over his wife and only child, the extremely overprotected Suzette gains her adulthood and some control of her life through making decisions, taking action, and exploring her sexuality. In the second story, "Bottled Water," Maple grieves over the drive-by shooting death of her mother. To say that Maple's grief is powerfully wrought is an understatement, as Birdsong excels at evoking savagely strong emotions. The third story, "Mind the Prompt," involves Agnes, a college graduate with deep personal problems who lashes out against her "perfect" sister. She finally comes to the realization that she cannot deny her family and doesn't need a man for her own happiness. VERDICT Birdsong portrays her main characters as individuals with their own heart and soul, searching for family, love, acceptance, and independence.--Lisa Rohrbaugh

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2022
Birdsong's stunning three-part novel showcases three young Black women with albinism in Louisiana, each discovering how much more capable they are than the way the world views and treats them. In the title story, Suzette has always lived a sheltered life, with only her parents and her best friend for company. But at 20, a new romance sparks her journey to take control of her life and seek answers to the questions she never thought to ask. In "Bottled Water," Maple dreams of falling in love, while her free-spirited mother uses sex as a means to put food on the table. After tragedy strikes, Maple is forced to bear her grief alone until she finds camaraderie in Chad, a man who empathizes with her loss more than she can understand. In "Mind the Prompt," Agnes is a highly educated young woman working a dull job. She catches the eyes of two men who seem to want different things from her. But as she explores these relationships, she comes to realize there is so much more she needs to discover and confront in her family, her past, and herself. Birdsong is a masterful storyteller with a powerful voice that will keep readers captivated.

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