Note that I listened to this on Audible instead of reading it. It was read by the author, Kiese (pronounced key-ESSAY, which I wouldn't have known if I hadn't listened to it) Laymon. He was obviously not a professional reader, but he did a good enough job. I feel like he probably understood how it should be read better than anyone else, despite his lack of ability to fully deliver.

This is his memoir and I chose it because it was the 2018 Audible Book of the Year, the first memoir to be chosen as such. The book discusses his growing up in Mississippi and the abuses he suffered and witnessed as well as his life after me moves away, college, etc. It talks a lot about his weight (he was usually obese) and his bout with anorexia.

People wanting to read more books from an African-American perspective.

Learning about how things were like for him and at first I liked when he would things like, "...and she laughed and laughed and laughed until she didn't." But then it got old.

The idea it suggested that he has to write for and about African-American things in order for his writing to be important, but maybe I'm just naive. I also didn't like that at times I was a tad confused about who he was referencing, generally the confusion was between his mother and his grandmother, and also that I didn't ever understand the relationship between himself and his mother. Was she sexually abusing him or were they just really close? I have no idea.

Small and bad because I'm white.

Wrote a very heavy book (pun intended) about his life. It was interesting and insightful, even if I didn't fully enjoy it. I certainly am glad I listened to it.

At least some people believe it has great literary significance.

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Created Sep 05, 2019 at 6:32pm • Submit your own review...