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davidbythebay's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
When embarking on a memoir, I never know exactly what I will find. I knew Harry Belafonte’s music. I have several albums including his Carnegie Hall recording and I absolutely love his Muppet Show episode. I knew he was involved with and supported Civil Rights and Human Rights. I knew, sadly, little else when I started this.
Belafonte’s memoir is refreshing and raw. He lays everything out and doesn’t skirt any issue. At times, this was jarringly raw emotion coming at the reader with intense situations and thoughts that often showed the man behind the entertainer. Discussing his marriages, children, the civil rights movement of the 1950s to today (to publication date), his parents (and even his parents’ stories before he was born a bit), he never once withdrew. He spoke honestly of his friendships with celebrities including movie stars and singers and politicians (like Fidel Castro!). His left-leaning ideas about politics and the function of government and the vision for the future are clearly on the page, but it’s never a relentless rant. Instead it is simply his thoughts and frustrations with things. He explains some of what he has said through the years and I would say calls out slights and friendships that have fallen apart.
With this honesty comes a bit of harsh reality. At times, particularly when speaking of who he has met and eaten dinner with politically and his activism post-1980s I’d say, he comes across a tad arrogant or boastful. Like he is saying “look who I know and have spoken to personally”. But this could be more of the narrator of the audiobook and author’s voice as he did have an author assist in the writing.
I listened to the audiobook which was done well. The audiobook stated that it is read by Harry Belafonte and Mirron Willis. Belafonte reads an opening prologue, a taste of what’s to come in a story about the civil rights work he did in the 1960s. Then it is all Willis. I didn’t mind this and enjoyed it. But it may have led to some of the above tonal issue I mentioned.
Overall, despite the occasional boastful tone, it was insightful of not only his life but the lives around him, from MLK Jr to RFK to Sidney Poitier. I highly reccommend this. I will say I am picking up a copy of this for my shelf and to reread later on.
Belafonte’s memoir is refreshing and raw. He lays everything out and doesn’t skirt any issue. At times, this was jarringly raw emotion coming at the reader with intense situations and thoughts that often showed the man behind the entertainer. Discussing his marriages, children, the civil rights movement of the 1950s to today (to publication date), his parents (and even his parents’ stories before he was born a bit), he never once withdrew. He spoke honestly of his friendships with celebrities including movie stars and singers and politicians (like Fidel Castro!). His left-leaning ideas about politics and the function of government and the vision for the future are clearly on the page, but it’s never a relentless rant. Instead it is simply his thoughts and frustrations with things. He explains some of what he has said through the years and I would say calls out slights and friendships that have fallen apart.
With this honesty comes a bit of harsh reality. At times, particularly when speaking of who he has met and eaten dinner with politically and his activism post-1980s I’d say, he comes across a tad arrogant or boastful. Like he is saying “look who I know and have spoken to personally”. But this could be more of the narrator of the audiobook and author’s voice as he did have an author assist in the writing.
I listened to the audiobook which was done well. The audiobook stated that it is read by Harry Belafonte and Mirron Willis. Belafonte reads an opening prologue, a taste of what’s to come in a story about the civil rights work he did in the 1960s. Then it is all Willis. I didn’t mind this and enjoyed it. But it may have led to some of the above tonal issue I mentioned.
Overall, despite the occasional boastful tone, it was insightful of not only his life but the lives around him, from MLK Jr to RFK to Sidney Poitier. I highly reccommend this. I will say I am picking up a copy of this for my shelf and to reread later on.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Abandonment, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, and War
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