Fanny Howe

 Fanny Howe died last week or around then. She is the sister of Susan Howe, another prominent poet. I am a devoted reader of her work, as my bookshelves attest. Her books of short stories Economics is brutal. The first story, "The Weather," is about a white couple adopting a black child, and it starts off without pulling any punches:   The white couple who adopted the black child was not happy with what they got."  Things go down hill from there. The couple is "socially aware," ostensibly non-racist enough to adopt the kid, but in the end just flat out racist both in their motivations and in their behavior. 

Normally I don't even like morality tales like this, but this one is breathtaking. The contrast between the "social justice" advocated and the actual results is chilling. Every detail in the story is a motivated sign, nothing is arbitrary. Their dog is named Mozart. The mother never bonds with the black male baby she gets, as a kind of pet for their daughter Jessica, and turns the care over to the father, who did not really want the kid either. She only brings the baby to events "involving the issue of race." Malcolm (a name she would never give to a white child) is a kind of virtue signaling accessory. She goes to a therapist to discuss her lack of maternal love. She blames Boston, as a racist town, for what is essentially her own racism. She contemplates divorce, with custody given to the father.  

Now she begins tormenting Malcolm when nobody else is around. He develops a skin condition which the family treats ineffectively.  The family is going to move to California, and it gradually becomes clear that Malcolm is not going to go with them. They lie to Jessica and tell her Malcolm is going to be with is "real mother." 

It becomes clear at some point that the story takes place when busing began in Boston.   

This was the only story I remembered when I took the book off the shelf. I read the second and don't recall it.