If This World Were Mine: A Novel

This is the story of a group of black college friends who establish a journal-writing "salon" later on in their lives, to share thoughts and feelings. Each individual has personality traits that are well-defined from the start, and each one undergoes some sort of transformation through the course of the story. The writing is quite good, some of the characters are very well drawn, and I am glad I read it, although I have reservations about a full recommendation. The weakness I found in the book is that some of the transformations are a little too quick and easy, and while I like a neat and tidy ending, I don't want to get there by shortcuts. There are a few "outsider" characters who interact in intriguing ways with the main group, and a show more tricky ethical question that never gets properly addressed. I also found it a bit jarring that after no indication that this was coming, most of the characters seemed to get religion (or return to it) by the end. A fair bit of sexual activity, some crude language, and (from one character) racial hatred, may affect your mileage with this one. show less

The writing wasn’t spectacular but the story and characters were interesting enough that it was easy to spend hours reading this book. I struggled with the undercurrent of biphobia throughout the novel, the willingness to only partially break out of restrictive understandings of Black same-gender loving men’s experiences, and (view spoiler). All in all, it was the kind of light, easy read I was looking for when I chose it but I wouldn’t recommend it.

E. Lynn Harris, though becoming more mainstream, writes the kind of novel that is going to appeal to a particular audience, and to that audience, If This World Were Mine will be met well. As a mainstream novel, though, it doesn't go deep enough into its content, ending up being predictable and uninteresting when it could have been more fascinating.

The novel explores the complexities of friendship between four disparate black characters that all went to Hampton College before going their separate ways in life. They run the gamut, from highly professional to career-floundering; gay, straight, and bisexual; both satisfied and highly dissatisfied with their lives. The four friends meet up to share personal journals about their lives, though show more each also keeps a separate journal in which they reveal more truths to themselves but not each other.

With such a wealth of variety in character, it's astonishing that the novel does not deal with character development in a convincing or natural way. As one character finds love and another questions whether she should explore an online alternative to her staid marriage, the potential for grand emotional outpouring is raised. But when each finds an unexpected resolution, the flatness with which each character moves on makes the novel feel more like an extended cliché than a real, relevant exploration of contemporary issues.

Perhaps the novel's failure comes from its desire to raise too many ethical or personal issues without exploring enough of them in depth. Several characters are confronted with the issue of bisexuality, which is treated in a surprisingly harsh and unwelcome manner considering that both homosexuality and heterosexuality are accessible and accepted throughout. A doctor, confronted with an ethical professional decision, is made to feel guilty for siding with his Hippocratic Oath, but when the decision works out in his favor anyway, the potentials for further discussion are simply dropped. And instead of offering a meaningful meditation on friendship when one of the group is shot near the end of the novel, we are instead confronted with Hallmark-style schmaltziness.

Harris appears to have bitten off more than he could chew here, wanting to be deep and meaningful but failing to extract little more than the expected. If This World Were Mine will be widely loved by the Oprah crowd, but for those expecting a little more depth and complexity with their beach reading will be sorely disappointed. show less

Ein bisschen schwülstig und sentimental bis melodramatisch, aber der Einblick in den Freundeskreis vom schwulen Leland, dem wütenden Dwight, der von ihrer Ehe enttäuschten Riley und der frisch verliebten Yolanda nehmen einen dann doch mit auf dieser leicht lesbaren Tour durchs schwarze Chicago dieses Tagebuchzirkels. So erkannt man doch etwas von sich selbst und freut sich aufs und hoffentlich dann auch übers wohlverdiente Happy End. Schön also für graue Tage!!!

3.5