Review by Arina Siaban -- Mixed Blessings by J.M. Muse

[Arina Siaban]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Mixed Blessings" by J.M. Muse.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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Mixed Blessings by J. M. Muse welcomes readers to a world of duality and the reality of being a child of two worlds but feeling as if you belong to none.

The story centers around the lives of mixed-race people living in L.A.: Kimberly, daughter to a Jewish mother and a Mexican father; Minister Kublai Khan, an Afro-American religious leader and a paramount in his community; “Star” Mathews, an Afro-Japanese pageant contestant. Towards the end of the book, we also meet Jeremy, a white-passing Black boy whose friend was murdered by the police.

Each of them struggles to assert their place amongst their family, community, and society itself, all the while wrestling with the complexities of race. Where do you belong, when your heritage is a patchwork of multitudes?

Kimberly wishes to connect with her Mexican father’s side of the family as she navigates her relationship with a black man, and deals with how her white-passing appearance impacts her standing on both her communities. Minister Kublai Khan seeks to make The House of Jeremiah grandiose, and create a new Babylon where the mixed-race population will attain majority. Star’s ambition is to win a Japanese beauty pageant and reconnect with her culture. Jeremy is left dealing with his suffering when he survives and his friend does not. All of these different lives suffer the influence of race in a distinct way.

There is a prevalent social commentary about the mistreatment and categorization of marginalized communities, highlighting the flaws of the concept of race as many know it: a societal construct that fails to assess the intricacies of diversity. The author doesn’t shy from criticizing a political process where effect takes precedence over effectiveness, neither from shining a spotlight on the hypocrisy of religious institutions, where twenty-four-karat bracelets and Cadillacs abound.

However, there are major issues that make it one story that will find it hard to cater to any audience. Flagrant mistreatment and objectification of women; a premise of racial manipulation and forceful engagements and procreation; dismissive sentiment regarding sexual assault, rape, and consent; incest revolving around characters with a pronounced age-gap; highly caricatural depictions of racially-grouped individuals, especially Black men (who are countless times described as sexual deviants, and even once lauded for their rapings during times of war), are just some of the themes approached.

It is not the insertion of these issues that strikes the reader, but the blatant, blasé manner of their treatment. If ever those issues were meant to be brought into discussion, the story failed to do so, instead offering no abrasiveness, but simple solutions to very complex, damaging situations. In fact, most interactions between characters are a statement on the subservient condition of women and the misery of being a man who finds his forceful advances shunned.

The one storyline that attempts to relate these complications is Star’s, yet it is centered on female rivalry and beautification.

I would be hard-pressed to recommend this to anyone, but I would especially advise women of color to not pick this one up, as they are clearly not the intended audience. You will also find subjects of racism and terrorist white supremacy.

Taking all this into account, I have felt compelled to rate this book 1 out of 4 stars.

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Mixed Blessings
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[SenSen]

Thank you for the review! It is so well written. I agree with everything you said, and I even found some points I missed while writing my own review.

[Ashley-Osuna]

I reviewed this book as well and I totally agree with you. I liked the concept of the book when I chose it but I don't think that it was well executed. Tank you for the honest review!