WHAT LOOKS LIKE CRAZY ON AN ORDINARY DAY
by Pearl Cleage
My first encounter with Pearl Cleage was as a playwright, when I took part in a pandemic play-reading group created and run by Northern Stage in Vermont. Her enchanting play, Blues for an Alabama Sky, set during the Harlem Renaissance, combined with hearing her speak about her work, made me immediately add several of her novels to my reading list. And I was not disappointed!
What Looks Like Crazy is an intimate look inside the mind of a 30-year-old woman reorganizing her life after receiving a positive HIV diagnosis. In 1980s Atlanta, there is not much she can do but wait for her HIV to turn into AIDS. So she decides to visit her older sister in Idlewild, MI, a vacation community founded in 1915 for African American families who were excluded from most other resort towns. By the 80s, it is no longer a tourist destination and residents are dealing with an aging population, few jobs and the arrival of crack cocaine, which increases the crime rate.
But for Ava Johnson, it is home. She is swept up in the passionate advocacy work her sister performs in the town and is drawn into a possible romance with her handsome and soothing neighbor. When it becomes clear that someone in the town is putting up serious resistance to their good works, Ava must decide if she will fight too.
Although the plot is engaging and surprising, what I loved most about this book was the intimacy of looking inside Ava’s mind. The way she thinks about herself and others, the way she reasons about her illness and her future, and the way she describes falling in love are all unique and touching and feel so real I finished the book feeling I had a new friend. I look forward to reading much more of Cleage’s work in the future. (Lily)
A SECOND HELPING
Inspired by my co-editor’s previous review of this book (read review here), I borrowed What Looks Like Crazy from her on a recent visit to Toronto. Cleage writes with such clarity and authenticity, that I was immediately drawn into this novel and still find myself thinking about it weeks later. What Looks Like Crazy’s narrator, Ava Johnson, has been running a successful, high-end beauty salon in Atlanta. She lives a freewheeling, sexually liberated life until she finds out she has HIV. Rocked to her core, she returns to her small, lakeside hometown in Northern Michigan. But things have changed since she left ten years ago: unemployment is skyrocketing, opioids are everywhere and the crime rate is soaring. In a truly original exploration of a woman’s identity, What Looks Like Crazy, touches the core of how we judge ourselves and others. What cues do we use to decide whether someone is worthy of our friendship or trust? And, what should we really be looking at? This is a great read and will leave you thinking about your own life and identity. (Liz)
