I was intrigued by the title, so I picked this up, not having known about Reid's previous book, which was long listed for various awards. This is a campus novel about the University of Arkansas, featuring Millie, a 24 year old Senior and RA. Millie is black and becomes particularly fond of a visiting (much older) white professor named Agatha, who has come to campus to interview students about weddings and getting married. When we meet everyone, Millie has arranged for the initial interviews and the story moves from there.
I found that this novel was more of a fly on the wall novel - we are observing from somewhat of a distance while the day to day life of a college unfolds around us. We observe the interaction of race, gender and class and the interpersonal conflicts that arise with living in dorms - the ultimate cramped place. It is pretty fast paced, but don't rush through it otherwise you'll miss the things that Reid is trying to teach you about the power dynamics inherent with the intersection of race class and gender. I enjoyed that I could hear the voices of the characters in my head as I was actually reading the dialogue, which doesn't often happen for me. I appreciated Reid's questioning of how we view the lives of people for our consumption and her questioning of the entitlement that surrounds that.
Enjoyable and quick, definitely recommended.
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