Reviews

This is a collection of essays and short stories! Like the Neil Gaiman collection, it suffers for being just like, a lot of one author
But fortunately Kiese is less annoying than Neil Gaiman, I think especially because he lets other voices share the spotlight. We get emails written between him and his mother, a letter chain from other Black male writers (including one trans Black guy and one gay Black guy), and the whole anthology ends with a sermon from his aunt
Who, I have to say, is kind of... a better writer than Kiese............ lmfao
Like Kiese isn't bad, but I'm not vibing with a lot of his tics? There's a lot of repetition when he's making grand pronouncements about Race In American Society, but without the clarity of voice and rhythm of the preachers he's influenced by. He tends to be dour and that doesn't really work with polemics
I think he's at his best when he's doing incisive and slightly mean captures of people he knows in real life. There's an interview he does with a guy who plays basketball overseas that he published for ESPN
And that's really interesting because he actually connects with the player, who is a personal friend from youth, and is very honest about his own judgmental attitude towards the whole situation
Similarly, the essay he writes about his publishing industry nightmare and a hated former agent is very gossipy and enjoyable

alicia_loves_books's review against another edition

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Reading essays about such personal topics is always so interesting to me. Especially when our lives are so different from each others. I appreciate the author’s vulnerability and this has given me so much to think about.

11corvus11's review against another edition

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5.0

Kiese Laymon's "How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America" is the revised edition of a book by the same name first published back in 2013. You may be thinking that this means it's a reprint of essentially the same book, perhaps with a new introduction or footnote here and there like so many revised and new editions end up being. That is not the case. If you read the old version, you did not read this book. Laymon went through hell to have his voice heard and for the ability to write and publish his work without it being torn apart in the worst nonconstructive ways. This resulted in a fight to get his own work back from the publisher, which ended with him paying them 10 times what they paid him for it. Many of the writings in the book surround current or recent events such as existing in a post-covid-19 world and living under Trump's reign of terrors, while others draw from the original.

From the start, this book is composed of amazing, honest, powerful, and poetic writing. Reading the struggles that Laymon has had just to exist as a Black southern writer is disheartening and seeing him succeed is a blessing. Being that I consider him to be one of the best writers alive today, I am left wondering just how many others we miss out on hearing from due to similar experiences to that which Laymon details in several essays of the book. Along with the barriers to writing and publishing, Laymon describes many other experiences in which being a Black, southern writer is at the center. Laymon is misled, scammed, and repeatedly told that the only way to make it anywhere as a "real black writer," is to tamper down or disappear "racial politics" and to frame any that remain with whiteness at the center. I was left wondering throughout the book what those editors and publishers are thinking now.

Outside of publishing struggles and successes, Laymon touches on many more topics and experiences. These include that of his and others youth, adulthood, family, friends, police, punishment, freedom, enjoyment, liberation, and many others. There are a few moments where Kiese comments on peoples bodies in ways that make me bristle, but with how open he has been about struggling with eating disorders, it makes sense in that light. One of my favorite entries, "Echo: Mychal, Darnell, Kiese, Kai, and Marlon," surprised me because I am usually not a huge fan of reading printed conversations between people. But, this entry composed of letters sent to one another by the group was moving in big ways. So many different types of people shared their experiences and wisdom. Laymon also touches on common topics that exist around struggles of racial oppression, such as violent encounters with cruel. racist cops regardless of (lack of) wrongdoing, sexual assault survival, the struggles of Black men and women and how they differ, domestic violence and abuse, mental health and addiction, struggle to get an education regardless of exceptional merit, and others. Laymon's handling of these topics however stands out in truly special ways. He has a way of making the story telling and conversations feel fresh and about as real as the written word can. "Our Kind Of Ridiculous," is affecting in big ways I can't really describe. I can feel Laymon's writing when I read it despite coming from a very different demographic and history.

One of the things I like best about Laymon's work is his ability to capture nuance and the utter messiness of human beings. There are no one-dimensional characters living in Laymon's books. He writes about human beings and the realities of life in all of their glory, terror, banality, and joy. He is truly one of the most honest writers out there. To combine such honesty with such talent is quite a feat worthy of praise.

This was also posted to my blog.

contrera's review against another edition

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4.0

Reading this helped me better understand Long Division much more. Every essay contains such a literary and thematic connection to the book. You are the Second Person, and How to Kill Yourself and Others in America were the two essays that struck me the most. Laymon is a raw and talented writer.

alexiscrocker's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

This is my first Kiese Laymon book and it did not disappoint. I learned about racism. About women. About other books to read. About how to better raise children. About Black experience in America. The list does not end.

New fan of Laymon - this will not be my last. His essays were poignant, insightful, and honest.

At only 158 pages, there’s no reason not to read this book.

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