´I wanted to live a big life too´.
Some books may ignite mixed reactions in the reader, but the challenge may just encourage the precious critical thinking.
Soila, the character of Lucky Girl, the debut novel of Kenyan-American writer Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu left for the US in order to break the control of her over-protective and over-achieving mother. As she is growing up as a person, writing her own life story and breaking with tradition, she is caught in the boiling cauldron of choices. She followed a career for the sake of her mother´s expectations, and she will keep practising it long after she regained her own independence until a personal turn of events will convince her to follow her passion for photography.
Although I enjoyed the story milestones and the main character, as well as the change of perspective between African Amerians and Africans on issues like race and priviledge and the insightful take on dementia, I had some issues regarding either the plot or the characters´ development.
For instance, Soila lacks consistency, and so do her relationships: we are told about she having boyfriends, but there is no story.
But despite those shortcomings and my mixed reactions, I´ve learned some interesting intellectual nuances from Lucky Girl that will keep in mind when thinking about race and priviledge.
Rating: 3 stars
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