Nov 23, 2021
We love revisiting our favorite books for episodes of Novel Pairings, but there’s also something truly special about finding a new-to-us classic that becomes a forever favorite. There is Confusion by Jessie Redmon Fauset was a book neither of us had read or even knew much about before deciding to cover it on the podcast.
What we found was a beautiful and nuanced novel of manners that both echoed many of our favorite works while offering something wholly original. We keep this episode spoiler-free to encourage more readers to give this novel a chance. We hope you’ll listen and then pick up this too long neglected Harlem Renaissance classic.
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Books mentioned:
There is Confusion by Jessie Redmon Fauset (Amazon)
Passing by Nella Larsen (Amazon) [30:39]
Chelsey’s Pairings
Pride by Ibi Zoboi (Amazon) [36:06]
This Lovely City by Louise Hare (Amazon) [42:23]
Becoming by Michelle Obama (Amazon) [49:18]
Sara’s Pairings
On Beauty by Zadie Smith (Amazon) [33:33]
No One is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts (Amazon) [39:35]
Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour (Amazon) [45:52]
Picks of the week:
Chelsey: How WWI Sparked and Artistic Movement that Transformed Black America [53:30]
Sara: New Yorker article on Fauset (by Morgan Jerkins) [52:09] and Women of the Harlem Renaissance by Cheryl A. Wall [52:40]