What do you see?

I listened to BBC Radio 4s podcast ‘Queenie’ last weekend. Queenie is the debut novel by Candice Carty-Williams, a darkly comic and unflinchingly raw depiction of a young woman trying to navigate her way in the world.

I came across this purely by chance and found it throughly enjoyable and captivating. Whilst it does have that entertainment value what really struck me was the stereotyping (of Queenie a young black women trying to understand her identify) from the white men she encounters, her identity as a young black women within her own family (which plays out with the relationship she has with her parents, grandparents and friends) and within the relationships within her social circles.

For me Queenie shows the many complex unspoken layers that black women face on a daily basis, most of which are either unconscious or unspoken but all of which are very real. But that’s just my opinion have a listen and let me know what you think….