After the birth of their son Brian, the grip of postpartum depression on Emma’s world is strong enough to tug at the heartstrings of mothers young and old. Throughout the novel, the struggles and tensions his characters experience very closely mirror those of his average reader in 2017 (the year of the book’s publication).Īpollo Kagwa and his wife Emma grapple with racial biases and stereotyping that black people in even one of the most progressive and diverse cities in the country face on a daily basis. In The Changeling, LaValle’s whimsical and quirky style translates well to a dark, eerie version of New York City and the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens. And aside from the (spoiler alert!) changeling child aspect, much of LaValle’s tale is grounded in a reality that is as familiar to those of us reading it today as it is to his characters during the time they lived.
But a quick Google search of the term “fairy tale” might lead readers to expect a story of magical lands far away or an idealized, stylized version of reality. If you didn’t believe that before opening the book, the fact that LaValle quickly and clearly announces it in the first line (“This fairy tale begins in 1968 during a garbage strike”) will only cement that expectation.Īnd in many ways, The Changeling is a fairy tale.
From the title itself, readers would assume that Victor LaValle’s iconic story is a fairy tale.
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