The Kindest LIE

Hello and welcome back, friends. Nothing special to report this week, unfortunately, so let’s just get into it. This week, to honour Black History Month, I will be reviewing another Black-authored novel. And the novel I chose is Nancy Johnson’s debut novel, The Kindest Lie. For my cocktail, I’ll be making a L.I.E (or just LIE for the title so the link wasn’t annoying). I don’t know what the acronym stands for, nor can I figure it out based on the recipe… So, I’ll be taking guesses from anyone and everyone! What I do know, is that it’s an interesting cocktail, for an interesting novel. Enjoy!

L.I.E. Cocktail Recipe

1oz Vanilla Vodka

1oz Rum

0.5oz Tequila

1oz Gin

1oz Triple Sec

2–3oz Coke

1 splash Orange Juice

1 handful Blackberries*

*Blackberries are an optional ingredient.

In an empty highball glass, muddle the blackberries. Then, fill with ice and add all liquors. Next, finish it off by adding a splash of orange juice and topping it off with some coke. And, don’t forget to stir it up well before enjoying!

This week, my special ingredient is blackberries. Early in the novel, Ruth brings Mama some blackberry preserves as she remembers how much she loves to spread them on her biscuits. Nothing else was really jumping out at me for a perfect ingredient, so I figured blackberries would work well. And they did!

I was pretty skeptical of this drink going into this week. All the different alcohols and orange juice and coke had me thinking that I might be setting myself up for another yucky drink. But, it was surprisingly delicious. I really liked the cocktail with and without the blackberries. The blackberries added a little something extra to the taste, but didn’t change it from the original too much. I also think it looked a little prettier with the blackberries mixed in there! So, I definitely recommend trying this cocktail out, just maybe on a day that you feel comfortable drinking 4.5 ounces of alcohol in one drink!

The Kindest Lie Synopsis

(from book flap)

It’s 2008 and the rise of Barack Obama ushers in a new kind of hope. In Chicago, Ruth Tuttle, an Ivy League-educated Black engineer, is married to a kind and successful man. He’s eager to start a family, but Ruth is uncertain. She has never gotten over the baby she gave birth to—and was forced to give up—when she was a teenager. She had promised her family she’d never look back, but Ruth knows that to move forward, she must make peace with the past.

Returning home, Ruth discovers the Indiana factory town of her youth is plagued by unemployment, racism, and despair. While her family is happy to see her, they remind her of the painful sacrifices they made to give her a shot at a better future—such as the comfortable middle-class life she now enjoys.

Determined, Ruth begins digging into the past. As she uncovers burning secrets her family desperately wants to hide, she unexpectedly befriends Midnight, a young white boy who is also adrift and looking for connection. When a traumatic incident strains the town’s already scorching racial tensions, Ruth and Midnight find themselves on a collision course that could upend both their lives.

Review

“A lie could be kind to you if you wanted it to be, if you let it.”

Yay! I’ve finally found a novel I like again. Since the last few books I’ve reviewed have only been meh, I’ve been feeling bad. So, I’m happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed The Kindest Lie. It was a great story with interesting and layered characters. However, it wasn’t perfect.

Let’s start with the writing. Johnson is a talented writer, and she did a beautiful job of creating the world of the story. Her descriptions detailed the settings and characters in depth, but didn’t overpower the story or make it feel ramble-y (like Tolkien). I also found, in relation to the last novel I reviewed, that The Kindest Lie was much more readable and accessible for everyone. (The Prophets wasn’t a bad novel it just felt like I needed another degree or two to be able to understand it.) So, I liked that The Kindest Lie was deep and insightful without being too smart for me.

One thing I’m still on the fence about in regard to the writing is the jumping around in time. I liked seeing the glimpses into Ruth’s and Midnight’s pasts, but at times I thought the transitions could be more clear and consistent. Often, there was only a paragraph break and then context clues to tell we were in a flashback. For the most part, these transitions were easy to figure out and didn’t seem awkward. But, there were times it took a moment to realize it was the past. There was also one chapter that began with a time stamp and, though the clear transition was nice, it felt inconsistent with the rest of the novel.

I really liked the story of this novel. It felt believable and realistic while also being dramatic and suspenseful. It’s not a suspense novel at all, but near the end I was on the edge of my seat about what was going to happen. We’ve all heard too many devastating stories about a similar situation to what takes place at the end of the novel, so I was both intrigued and nervous about how it would all play out.

One thing that bugged me with the story (mainly at the beginning) was Ruth. A lot of her problems were brought on by her own inability to tell the truth. I get annoyed with characters who are constantly bringing about their own misfortune and drama when it would be different if she had just said something 4 years earlier. And, I get that it’s a device to get the story moving, but in this novel I think the story could’ve played out exactly the same without this. It could’ve taken place at the beginning of Ruth and Xavier’s relationship, but instead we have a lot of time unnecessarily dedicated to Ruth being worried about telling him the truth. However, I still liked both the story and Ruth as a character.

Ruth’s inability to discuss the truth or confront people is truly a character flaw not a writing flaw, so, though it’s not my favourite thing, this did add some depth to the character. I actually really liked all the characters in this novel. They’re all fleshed out, realistic, and sympathetic. I loved that there weren’t any perfect characters, and that, instead, each character had good and bad qualities. It made it feel like I was reading about real humans, which fostered a deeper connection to the characters. I also like how this played on my emotions of wanting to be on the characters side because they’re good, but still not liking everything they’re doing. It made for a lot of complex thoughts and feelings about the characters, which added something special to the novel.

The Kindest Lie is not a perfect novel for me, unfortunately. There were a few things that brought me out of the story. The little inconsistencies (like the one I mentioned before) are my biggest problem with the novel. There weren’t very many, but they did irk me. There were also some parts of the novel that didn’t feel as believable or cohesive as the rest. But, they were just small things that I don’t think detracted from the overall story too much. My final problem is that there was a lot of extraneous information included that didn’t actually add anything to the novel. For instance, I don’t need to be told that Ruth had two options and she chose option one and didn’t choose option two. You can just say she had two options and chose option one, anything more is unnecessary and detracts from the actual story.

My final discussion about this novel is that I loved how it looked at America and the American Dream. Johnson does a masterful job of showing the differences in the lives of the characters. Specifically, the way she subtly shows the differences between races and classes in the lives of the kids is great. Whenever Midnight failed to understand why his Black friend acted a certain way (with adults and the police) my heart ached. Through the lens of a poor white kid, Johnson beautifully depicts society’s problem with systemic racism and white people’s inherent privilege.

The varying perspectives of a Black woman and a white kid added so many layers to the novel. And worked perfectly to highlight the topics Johnson intended to showcase. Truly, there was no better way for this novel to be written. Finally, how Johnson handled the important and delicate topics of racial and class divide was amazing. The way she intricately and wonderfully weaved a discussion of race and class differences into the novel without bogging it down with deep, tragic information was both subtle and impactful.

All in all, I think The Kindest Lie was a great debut novel from an author I will definitely be looking out for in the future. It was deep and interesting, but also a light and quick read. Unfortunately, I do think there are some areas that could have been improved upon by reducing extraneous information and inconsistencies. But, despite that, I think this novel will be sticking with me for some time. However, even if you don’t feel like reading this one after this review I still recommend trying the cocktail. Or, if you’re not interested in getting drunk off one drink, maybe just stick with the book!

My Rating:

Thanks for reading! And, if you read the book or try the cocktail let me know in a comment, on Instagram, or in person (if you know me). Also, if you haven’t yet read my previous reviews, I recommend reading Simple Truths I Never Told You and The Vanishing Half and Half if you liked this one!

Teghann

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