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comradek8's review against another edition
4.0
I adored this book. Very much reminded me of Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I had been wanting to learn more about the Black Diaspora since my sociology of immigration class and this book touched on it. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.
elly29's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
I did not know what I was getting into, but this was fascinating, and so much better than a celebrity memoir. He is the son of the leader of the failed secessionist African state of Biafra, who spent time in Jamaica (his mother’s home) and then moved to the United States (“land of opportunity”). Chude-Sokei sits atop the tripod of West African, Carrbbean, and America experience, being able to move among all three but finding no place permanent to settle and find a sense of belonging, at least not while growing up. As African/Caribbean immigrant, he had the mantra of, “We came here by choice,” in contrast to the descendants of Black Americans who were en slaves and brought to the Americas by force.
Moving to LA, Chude-Sokei was mis/read as Black, when he was more Caribbean or African. He did not feel himself to be Black the same way that the descendants of formerly enclaves Africans are black. And yet, in Jamaica he took on the “Black American” persona in order to be tough and cool.
What interesting commentary on race, class, immigration, and all sorts of variations of the Black experience. He had a tension between assimilation and ties to his roots and also being nationless (as Biafra was a failed, short-lived west African state). He learned that race is less important than class, but skin color is a shorthand for class in America. And that for Black Americans who have grown up Black in America, or at least while he was getting a graduate degree at his university, there is the main dynamic of black/white, and a lot less interest in the experience of Blackness in diaspora in all its forms (eg, like his experience coming to America in the second half of the 20th century). I found his meditations to be thoughtful, thorough, and insightful (though this is also one of few books about African diaspora that I have read recently, so I’m unsure how it compares.)
“This was the dream: Africa, the Middle Passage, and America, all sitting down together at the dining table. Pan-Africa.”
“Americans feel are dramatic about their suffering and let everyone know they’re suffering.”
Moving to LA, Chude-Sokei was mis/read as Black, when he was more Caribbean or African. He did not feel himself to be Black the same way that the descendants of formerly enclaves Africans are black. And yet, in Jamaica he took on the “Black American” persona in order to be tough and cool.
What interesting commentary on race, class, immigration, and all sorts of variations of the Black experience. He had a tension between assimilation and ties to his roots and also being nationless (as Biafra was a failed, short-lived west African state). He learned that race is less important than class, but skin color is a shorthand for class in America. And that for Black Americans who have grown up Black in America, or at least while he was getting a graduate degree at his university, there is the main dynamic of black/white, and a lot less interest in the experience of Blackness in diaspora in all its forms (eg, like his experience coming to America in the second half of the 20th century). I found his meditations to be thoughtful, thorough, and insightful (though this is also one of few books about African diaspora that I have read recently, so I’m unsure how it compares.)
“This was the dream: Africa, the Middle Passage, and America, all sitting down together at the dining table. Pan-Africa.”
“Americans feel are dramatic about their suffering and let everyone know they’re suffering.”
bernfarr's review against another edition
4.0
While the subject matter is challenging and the history difficult at times, Chude-Sokei's book is well written and easy to read. I'm going to hang onto it so I can read it again.
It explains some of the complexities of being black in modern America and the world. I'd like to understand this more.
It explains some of the complexities of being black in modern America and the world. I'd like to understand this more.
siria's review against another edition
4.0
In this engrossing memoir, Louis Chude-Sokei explores what it means to be a Black man who's lived in—or sometimes on the outside of—various different African diasporic communities. Born during the Biafra War to an Igbo father and a Jamaican mother, Chude-Sokei spent time in a refugee camp in Gabon as a child before being raised by grandparents in Jamaica, reunited with his mother in the United States, and eventually returning to visit Nigeria as an adult. In none of these places does he feel that he quite fits, or that his sense of who he is as a Black man quite matches the expectations of those around him—he's too African for Jamaicans, too Jamaican for Black Americans, too American for his Nigerian kin.
Chude-Sokei writes in a understated way that eschews a lot of editorialising or setting out lessons learned—even when he's talking about some experiences that the reader has to imagine were personally upsetting, if not traumatising. He also forgoes tangents into, say, the specific histories of Black neighbourhoods in Los Angeles or a timeline of the Biafra War. While this means that some readers may not grasp the full import or context of certain events, as a narrative choice I thought it worked, allowing Chude-Sokei to focus on the immediacy of his personal experiences.
Chude-Sokei writes in a understated way that eschews a lot of editorialising or setting out lessons learned—even when he's talking about some experiences that the reader has to imagine were personally upsetting, if not traumatising. He also forgoes tangents into, say, the specific histories of Black neighbourhoods in Los Angeles or a timeline of the Biafra War. While this means that some readers may not grasp the full import or context of certain events, as a narrative choice I thought it worked, allowing Chude-Sokei to focus on the immediacy of his personal experiences.
nora_knight's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
I enjoyed the writing style and the memoir definitely gave me new perspectives on identity through many different lenses. The book had some pretty traumatic moments, however, which made it a challenging read at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Death of parent, and Racism
Moderate: War, Pedophilia, Medical content, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Death, Alcohol, Abandonment, Violence, Physical abuse, Blood, and Alcoholism
Minor: Colonisation, Murder, and Genocide
heathervickery's review against another edition
4.0
This is a beautifully written book that provided me with education and knowledge of things I’ve had no previous experience with.
valeriemadsen's review against another edition
4.0
Oh, I was so sad when this book ended. I wanted to hear more details of the author's heritage and his musings on self discovery.
katrinadalythompson's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I plan to teach this in my literary ethnography course.