Someone, somewhere (I can’t remember who) remarked that books and films like The Help end up being popular precisely because they are written by white women, while more critical (and important!) novels by people of color get shoved out of the market. They still glorify and romanticize the hell out of it, though. After all, the four Ya-Yas are essentially modernized Scarlett O’Haras, born 75 years too late to witness the destruction of the South. Gone with the Wind is discussed extensively in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and it’s clear that author Rebecca Wells drew inspiration from the classic Southern novel. I’ve never read Gone with the Wind, but I’ve heard secondhand about how racist it is. There’s a long history of white women getting away with saying and writing problematic things. Who were those 1.5 million people? Why were they duped into thinking that Ya-Ya was a good novel? I think I have part of an answer, but it’s not a comfortable one. I was horrified to learn that it sold a whopping 1.5 million copies in the two years following its publication. Where was MY divine intervention, to stop me from making such a grave mistake?ĭespite the fact that Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is, for the most part, quite well-written, I felt dirty while reading it because of the blatant racism, classism, and sexism contained within its pages. Well, shame on me! I don’t know WHAT compelled me to think I’d get along with a book containing “sisterhood” and “ya-ya” in its title.
When I spotted a copy in the bargain bin at a used bookshop in Wellington, I thought, why not? This book has floated on the edge of my awareness for quite some time now.
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