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While We Were Burning

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Parasite meets Such a Fun Age in a scorching debut that is as heartbreaking as it is thrilling, examining the intersection of race, class, and female friendship, and the devastating consequences of everyday actions.
After her best friend's mysterious death, Elizabeth Smith’s picture-perfect life in the Memphis suburbs has spiraled out of control—so much so that she hires a personal assistant to keep her on track. Composed and elegant, Brianna is exactly who she needs and slides so neatly into Elizabeth’s life, almost like she belonged there from the start. Soon, the assistant Elizabeth hired to distract her from her obsession with her friend's death is the same person working with her to uncover the truth behind it.
Because Brianna has questions too.
She wants to know why the police killed her young Black son. Why someone in Elizabeth’s neighborhood called the cops on him that day. Who took that first step that stole her child away from her. And the only way she’s ever going to be able to find out is to entwine herself deep into Elizabeth’s life, where the answers to her questions lie. As the two women hurtle towards an electrifying final showdown, and the lines between employer and friend blur, it becomes clear that neither of them is what they first appear.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 12, 2024
      Koffi’s lukewarm debut shortchanges its worthy themes. Elizabeth Smith and her husband, David, have recently moved to the posh Memphis, Tenn., neighborhood of Harbor Town. Shy, self-loathing Elizabeth resents David’s easy social skills; the only person she could possibly consider a friend is her neighbor, Patricia. After running out of excuses, Elizabeth finally accepts one of Patricia’s regular invitations to go for an early morning jog, only to discover the woman’s lifeless body dangling from a nearby lamppost on the appointed morning. Though police and neighbors believe the death was a suicide, Elizabeth, who saw no signs of depression in Patricia, is convinced it was murder. The situation causes her already-dicey mental state to deteriorate, and David suggests she hire a personal assistant. Into the couple’s life strides beautiful, intelligent Brianna Thompson, who initially seems like a dream employee. Her sunny disposition belies her ulterior motives, however, and her Blackness chafes against the pearly-white privilege of Elizabeth and David’s milieu. Koffi toggles between Elizabeth and Brianna’s perspectives, gradually doling out information about the checkered pasts that have delivered them into each other’s lives. Themes of suburban ennui, casual racism, and mental health struggles are well explored, but Koffi’s character development is anemic, and the central investigation feels rote. This disappoints.

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  • English

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