Editorial Content for A Very Special Episode
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
After spending her whole life in the shadow of her mother, Delores, Nina Johnson --- the grand dame of the Black social set in Washington, D.C. --- is finally ready to step into the spotlight. She's assuming the presidency of The Tenth, the elite Black society (named for W. E. B. Du Bois' concept of “the talented tenth”) that holds immeasurable power and cachet in D.C. What's more, she's on track to get married to Booker T. Bruce, who’s on track to become the city's next mayor.
True to her upbringing, Nina isn’t one to rest on her laurels. Her ambition is endless, and she knows that she can be the one to transform The Tenth out of its stuffy, uptight history and into the 21st century. But to do that, she'll need money --- and lots of it. Enter Sienna Masters, who approaches Nina shortly after The Tenth's annual gala (and after Nina has thoroughly debased herself by performing in a minstrel show at her mother's insistence).
"The book is reminiscent in some ways of the work of Jason Mott, Zakiya Dalila Harris, Paul Beatty and Alyssa Cole. It blends genres as a way of creating incisive social commentary, mixed with a dose of 1990s nostalgia."
Sienna mentions that she's leading a project investigating a form of dementia that has so disproportionately affected the African American community that it's been dubbed “Blacktimer's” by the media. She and her company have set up an experimental residential facility at the site of a former public housing complex, The Orchard.
Now a small group of dementia patients --- Black D.C. residents of a variety of ages --- live there, in a world that's constructed to be a recreation of every Black person's favorite 1990s sitcom, “Coolin' Out with the Johnsons.” The reasoning is that by immersing the patients in this familiar, reassuring setting, they'll be less likely to grow disoriented and agitated and can instead live out their remaining years in the best kind of fantasyland. If Nina and her friends come help out at The Orchard for a few days, Sienna will make a very generous contribution to The Tenth --- easily enough to make all of Nina's aspirations come true.
Life at The Orchard is even stranger than you'd think, but Camille Acker does a masterful job of blending satire, speculative fiction, absurdism, and even a light touch of horror in this increasingly unsettling milieu. Nina is committed to the project at first, but soon finds that she’s having to question a lot of things --- and people --- she's always taken for granted. A VERY SPECIAL EPISODE goes deep into issues both dividing and uniting the Black community. But it also can be appreciated as a novel about a woman on the cusp of middle age realizing that she still might not have herself fully figured out.
The book is reminiscent in some ways of the work of Jason Mott, Zakiya Dalila Harris, Paul Beatty and Alyssa Cole. It blends genres as a way of creating incisive social commentary, mixed with a dose of 1990s nostalgia. This is a promising next step for Acker (who previously published a short story collection), and readers will be excited to see where she goes next.
Teaser
Nina Johnson has always taken pride in belonging to The Tenth. Her great-great-grandmother founded the prestigious DC society --- a space for influential African Americans --- just 40 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Nina has been elected to helm the organization, but she is determined to escape the influence of her mother and forge her own path. To realize her ambitions, Nina needs funding. So when a wealthy white benefactor named Sienna Masters offers financial support in exchange for her participation in a mysterious project at a former public housing complex, The Orchard, Nina ignores her initial skepticism and agrees to a partnership. But as Nina and those closest to her piece together Sienna's true motives, they discover far more sinister forces at play.
Promo
Nina Johnson has always taken pride in belonging to The Tenth. Her great-great-grandmother founded the prestigious DC society --- a space for influential African Americans --- just 40 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Nina has been elected to helm the organization, but she is determined to escape the influence of her mother and forge her own path. To realize her ambitions, Nina needs funding. So when a wealthy white benefactor named Sienna Masters offers financial support in exchange for her participation in a mysterious project at a former public housing complex, The Orchard, Nina ignores her initial skepticism and agrees to a partnership. But as Nina and those closest to her piece together Sienna's true motives, they discover far more sinister forces at play.
About the Book
In Washington, D.C.’s powerful Black elite, legacy is everything. When a young heir to one of the city’s most influential institutions seeks funding to cement her future, a shadowy organization offers to help --- but it could cost her far more than she’s willing to give.
Nina Johnson has always taken pride in belonging to The Tenth. After all, she’s following in the footsteps of her ancestors: Her great-great-grandmother founded the prestigious DC society --- a space for influential African Americans --- just 40 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Nina has been elected to helm the organization, but she is determined to escape the influence of her mother, who has led the organization with a steadfast commitment to tradition, all while keeping Nina under her freshly manicured thumb. Nina’s determined to forge her own path and do things differently: fewer stuffy, out-of-touch meetings and boring galas, more young people, and a swankier headquarters.
To realize her ambitions, Nina needs funding. So when a wealthy white benefactor named Sienna Masters offers financial support in exchange for her participation in a mysterious project at a former public housing complex, The Orchard, Nina ignores her initial skepticism and agrees to a partnership. But as Nina and those closest to her piece together Sienna's true motives, they discover far more sinister forces at play, ones that exploit Nina's community for profit, with stakes that extend far beyond her ambitions for The Tenth. But how far is Nina willing to go to shape her future? And what is she willing to sacrifice along the way?
A whip-smart and sly social commentary on the complex interplay of race, class and family legacy, A VERY SPECIAL EPISODE will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Audiobook available, read by Emma Ladji
