There's a powerful moment in [b:Rising Strong|23317538|Rising Strong|Brené Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1428641002l/23317538.SX50.jpg|42872911] where Brené Brown relates a friend asking her, “I do, however, think that in general people are doing the best they can. What do you think?” and the explosive soul-searching that ensued. [b:Marcus Aurelius|30659|Meditations|Marcus Aurelius|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421618636l/30659.SY75.jpg|31010] phrased it a little differently a few centuries before that: ”They are like this because they can't tell good from evil.” However you think about it, this is a subject I've struggled with since long before I ever read either. I'm starting with this because I found it a useful background to reading Such a Fun Age.

First things first, though: stick with it, it gets better. The first many chapters are kind of tedious: (primarily) shallow entitled self-absorbed characters and their backstories, thankfully salvaged by the presence of Briar, a three-year-old with more curiosity, self-awareness, empathy and communication ability than any other three characters put together. I also found myself gravitating toward the aforementioned question, do people do the best they can? How do people become moral actors? Most importantly, how do affluent attractive people do so? Can they? (Spoiler: yes. I consider myself fortunate to have many such as friends). How do some people overcome the disability of privilege?

But that's just the first quarter, before the train wreck. After that, shit got real interesting real fast, and zigged and zagged into many directions, none of which I was expecting, and all of which show an impressive maturity on the part of young Ms. Reid. This was a thought-provoking book, fueling my lifelong interest in the above questions, and, as I would expect (demand) from a good book, answering none; leaving me to keep wondering and, I hope, to be able to converse about it with friends one day.