layawaydragon
Written on Oct 23, 2016
+Loved the writing and the voices
+Setup is brilliant
+Love the social commentary & critique
+Can totally see it being a movie
+Light, easy, and fun read
The Bad & The Other
=Wasn’t expecting it’d be this close to the original Christmas Carol
-Not a romantic comedy like the blurb on Goodreads states
First Sentence:
The devil doesn’t wear Prada, he wears Sean John and I was the idiot that taught him how to shop.
On Top of the World starts with a prologue from Belle, who immediately grabbed me. Most of my highlights come from her in fact. I love her voice and POV.
However most of the book is told by Scrooje. And in his present state he’s more loathsome and damaging than the original Ebenezer ever was. Again, the voice was perfectly captured and helped keep me reading even when I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near nor associated with the fuckface.
More than that though, I wanted to know how and why he became the monster he is, especially with Belle describing meeting him in college…Seems like a guy I’d go for, which was part AWWWW and part Oh Gods No given how he turned out.
I was honestly skeptical he could be redeemed at first. I wanted him to be, but good lord… I was waiting for the two to meet again after 3 years to get the ball rolling, make him work for it, and that’s when the ghosts showed up.
I wasn’t expecting that, to be honest. Given the romantic comedy mentioned in the blurb, I’d thought it was about them working it out and shenanigans. Instead, we have a Ghosts of Past, Present, and Future leading the way with an epiphany. Afterwards, it’s a 180 turnaround and a happily ever after with a message.
The names and roles the character’s play remain much the same from A Christmas Carol, but not only is it updated to contemporary times, it doesn’t center around Christmas. WHICH I REALLY, REALLY LOVE. I do not like charity only revolving around holidays. As someone who’s been on the receiving side of charity, ya’ll are fake as fuck doing that.
Making it about a black mogul, his journey from the projects to superstardom and the industry is brilliant. It pulls no punches about black exploitation in our white supremacist society. That was plain on the surface. What really got me though was the underlying “he couldn’t have done it without black women.” In fact, besides his friends and one teacher that came later, his foundation was the black women in his life.
They loved him, saved him, made him. And it’s heart wrenching to see him betray them so. At one point, there’s discussion of black women boycotting him and his acts because of his anti-blackness misogyny. He comes home when he realizes how much he owes them and how wrong he’s been. I just wish it was acknowledged in words, instead of being the unseen, unappreciated backbone of the novel.
Our love was stronger than your pride
-Beyoncé, Lemonade
Aside to Ponder: Funny, how he exists with all these well-known acts, like Russell Simmons and Fifty, but I don’t see black women mentioned. Where is Oprah, Queen Latifah, Shonda Rhimes, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Beyoncé? There’s mention of Michelle alongside Barack Obama, but no one on the contemporary entertainment stage, which is glaring in its absence. Especially Beyoncé, whose music would resonate well with Belle’s struggles. Or is Belle the quietly leaving, ego-protecting version of Beyoncé in this reality? What does that say about Scrooje and his author, given Beyoncé’s black feminist message? Or am I reading too much into it?
I was thrown when the ghosts popped up. Since it’s billed as a romantic comedy, I was expecting something a bit different than the straight re-telling. Once I was over my initial uh…shock, I got into it again. But there isn’t much time spent between Scrooje and Belle in the present time. So if you’re looking for the traditional romantic comedy like Bridget Jone’s Diary (ugh), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (love), or Two Can Play That Game (favorite) you’ll be disappointed.
It’s more like Love and Hip Hop meets A Christmas Carol.
I did enjoy it but I found myself disappointed since I was expecting something different than an on -the-nose retelling. With the right expectations going in, I’m sure it’ll be better received. It stands out because of its content, writing, and themes but I can’t give 5 or 4 stars because of feeling misled. For me, it’s a good, light, entertaining read earning 3.5 stars.