that's pretty neat

By Danielle Evans 265 pages Published in 2020 Fiction and short stories focused on race 4.5/5 Stars (quick read but powerful)

The book includes several short story and one novella for about 100 pages, which is where the books title comes from. In that story, the government has an Office of Historical Corrections comprised of officers who make correct historical inaccuracies seen in everyday life. The main character, Cassie, works in the office and it sent to remedy an issue in rural Minnesota caused by a correction an ex-coworker (Genevieve) made. It was correcting a plaque memorializing a black man (Josiah) who owned a house in the town that burned down and was thought to have died in the fire. The correction was to name the racist townspeople who may have had something to do with the fire and who took the house, without payment, after the fire. Turns out, Josiah actual fled the fire and liked a long life outside of the town. Cassie uncovers that the Josiah's sister (Ella Mae) was also living in the town while passing as white. The main adversary of the sign is a white supremacist called White Justice, who turns out to be the grandson of Ella Mae (meaning he has black ancestry). The story ends with White Justice in a rage about the news and shooting Genevieve.

“Through the [candy store] windows I could see the checkered floor and wooden countertops. I distrusted, in general, the appeals of nostalgia – I loved the past of archives, but there was no era of the past I had any inclination to visit with my actual human body, being rather fond of it having at least minimal rights and protections.”

“Along again, I asked what was wrong. [Genevieve] told me she'd lost a debate tournament, or rather not lost but come in second, and also not lost because she had, by all accounts and measures had won, been fiercer and smarter and more polished than the girl who beat her, won by every metric but the judge's scorecards. Her teammates had sympathectically shrugged it off as one of those inexplicable decisions, and her parents had given her the twice as good for half the credit lecture, when she wanted, just once, for someone to tell her that she was already good enough and it wasn't all right if the world wasn't fair enough to reward it, wanted someone to acknowledge that even this trivial thing was allowed to hurt, and that the particularity of the unfairness had a name. 'Genie,' I said, 'Fuck those people. You're smarter than all of them.' 'I am,' said Genie. 'But it's never going to be enough.'”

”'I didn't know it was [a fake gunshot] at first,' I said. 'You always think when something like that happens you're going to be the bravest version of yourself. I thought I was ready, and I wouldn't be terrified.' 'Oh, Cassie,' Genie said. 'No, you didn't.'”