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The Gilded Years by Karin Tanabe Book Review

Reasons For Reading This Book:

If you read my review of The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett then you will know that it sparked a great discussion with my mom about the topic of ‘passing’. She had read The Gilded Years by Karin Tanabe and said that it was about the same topic and highly recommended it. Since the topic of ‘passing’ was new to me and I was interested and wanting to feed into the momentum of it, I picked up a copy of The Gilded Years from the library soon after she recommended it.

 

Content of the Book:

Anita Hemmings is the oldest of her siblings, having a younger brother and sister. Raised in Boston by her hardworking janitor father and house-making mother, both descendants of salves, Anita has dreamed of achieving higher education at the prestigious women’s Vassar College. Despite being African-American, Anita has made the dangerous decision to apply as a white student. She is the only African-American student to ever attend Vassar. Once admitted and having made it until her senior year without many challenges, Anita is now rooming with Louise “Lottie” Taylor a rich New York socialite. They form a friendship that puts Anita’s secret in a dangerous situation. This newfound friendship gives Anita opportunities to experience parts of society that would otherwise not be assessable to her. Will Anita’s secret be revealed after Lottie becomes infatuated by Anita’s brother Frederick? All Anita has to do it get that diploma and she will have done it.

 

What I Liked About This Book:

As someone who is becoming more and more of a fan of historic fiction and nonfiction, I was captivated by the setting of the Gilded Age and how the societal norms and cultural expectations of the times played into the story. The author created an all-encompassing perspective of the Gilded Age by detailing the attire, societal standings, popular events, language, and so much more. The writing style was effortless and fluid. The author was able to explain the importance of these aspects of the time in a way that blended effortlessly into the narration of the story without sounding academic. The combination of inner dialogue and Anita’s narration provided the reader with all the information and more that was required to fully understand the plot and how the author wanted to portray Anita. Even through parts of the plot are fictionalized, it is all very believable. Two of my favorite parts of the book were the last chapter and the author’s notes. I found the last chapter to be the perfect conclusion. The author’s notes were particularly interesting because they detailed how and why the author chose to write this story and what changes or additions they made to the plot and gave reasons for why. Even though parts of the story are fictionalized I still enjoyed it and can think of Anita and her story both the true and fictionalized way. Since I mentioned in the reasons for reading this book that this is only my second book on the topic of ‘passing’, The Vanishing Half (1st book I read on the topic) and The Gilded Years are completely different books with varying perspectives on the topic of ‘passing’.

 

What I Disliked About This Book:

My only real complaint about this book is Anita repeatedly thought the same thoughts relating to her situation. I get that this was a choice by the author to reiterate how consuming this situation was and how it dictated everything she did and said, but I feel as though the author could have found different ways to say the same thing instead of repeating the same phrase over and over.

 

Would I Recommend This Book?

Even if you have read The Vanishing Half or other books on this topic, I still recommend this book because they are very different. Whether you are a fan of historic fiction or not I highly recommend this book. The book is littered with so many takeaways and is a truly fascinating story. You will become captivated by the story and the time of the Gilded Age.


Check out my book reviews for 2023!!

Horse by Geraldine Brooks  
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
Hester by Laurie Pico Albanese
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Environmental and Sustainability Book Reviews 2022
Self-Improvement Book Reviews 2022
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
Not All Diamonds and Rosé by Dave Quinn
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham 
Girls With Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman
Run, Rose, Run by James Patterson and Dolly Parton
The Summer Series by Jenny Han
A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard
The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives by Brian Moylan
Verity by Colleen Hoover
All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart 
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Majesty: American Royals 2 by Kathrine McGree
Every Last Secret by A.R. Torre

Check out my book reviews for 2021!!

2021 Book Rankings

Beach Read By Emily Henry
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Educated by Tara Westover
The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins 
We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins 
We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Klara and the Sun 
The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
American Duchess by Karen Harper 
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Girl With No Job by Claudia Oshry
Down the Habit Hole by Holly Madison Book Review
My Story by Elizabeth Smart
Layla by Colleen Hoover

Check out my book reviews for 2020!!

Check out my book reviews for 2019!!

Check out my book reviews from 2018!!


Don't forget to stay up to date on my blog by following my social media accounts!
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