Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?: A Novel

A quick read that for me detailed a world that I knew existed but had little knowledge of - the story of black people living as, passing for, white in the Jim Crow era. A very ambitious book that tried to span nearly 100 years, I stayed engrossed in Kitty’s story, but felt the modern characters were short-changed in character development. I almost would have preferred the modern story be told from the perspective of Sarah, (even if Elise was still the Kitty connection) as that character was a missed opportunity. A very entertaining and enlightening read but the ending was only so-so at best. Several characters just sort of faded without being explained in the historical or modern story and you’re left with a missing piece. Similarly I believe Kitty’s love interest at the end of her life is a key character earlier and would have loved that confirmed and explored.

“There are two types of people in this world, Mary: people with time to sit under the trees, looking up at the sky and pondering life... and those who end up hanging from those same trees, looking down on the life they might have had, had they been born different.” Spanning several decades between the Jim Crow era and the present day, the story centers around Mary, a child of mixed parentage who is raised by her black mother and barely acknowedged by her white family. When Mary visits her childhood friend Rosalind at her new job at a Hollywood film studio, she discovers that Rosalind has assumed a new identity as a white woman and expects her to do the same. Now known as Kitty, Mary's rapid rise within the ranks and eventually onto the screen stirs feelings of resentment in Rosalind, who struggles between what she thinks she wants and what she actually has. As the story unfolds, we witness the highs and lows, the complexities, the dangers, and the emotional toll of living such a life. In the present day, the next generation is left to confront the startling uncovering of the truth of Kitty's past, facing their own complicated repercussions. Usually, my like or dislike of characters doesn't hinder my enjoyment of a novel; I can still appreciate the writing and the author's message. However, I found myself wishing I could connect with the book more. The atmosphere surrounding the characters was fairly obvious and didn't need any coaxing to set the stage, but the characters were short on the dimension and depth that would draw me in more and make me care what happened to them. I do acknowledge that this was Ms. Paul's debut as an author and commend her for such an ambitious undertaking.

This is book is not at all what I expected. I thought I would be reading a Taylor Jenkins Reid type book, and it was much more racism and justice oriented. This book shone a light on racism and colorism in a way that other novels I’ve experienced haven’t.

3.5

I gave the book a 7 rating. I Loved the Kitty Karr story. I hated the story about her heirs. The heir characters were bougie and whining. However the author did the Kitty Karr story justice. I almost put the book down. But as soon as the story turned to kitty I was all in. Until the ending when the heirs got involved again.