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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Rebecca Walker has a fluid and engaging writing style. She had really insightful things to say about growing up as a mixed race person in a white Jewish community. I was really struck by her statement that she does not "feel an affinity with whiteness, with what Jewishness has become."
This was difficult to read because I was horrified by the sexual experiences she had in middle school and high school. She never passes any judgment on the men she slept with, and she never calls it abuse, so I don't feel like I can exactly label it that way. But it certainly seemed exploitative and was hard to read. It was also hard to read about how emotionally neglected she was. But she told her truth boldly, and I am very impressed by that.
On a technical level, this is not a typical autobiography. It's a series of vignettes. It's a bit hard to pin down exactly when things are happening, and sometimes the stories didn't seem to be exactly chronological. She also brings up stories with friends she's never mentioned before and she references them as though we should know who they are. So some of the stories seem a bit disjointed and unrelated. It's a stylistic choice that goes very well with the theme of the book. It really emphasizes how she moved between worlds and between friend groups and family. However, it was sometimes frustrating.
This was difficult to read because I was horrified by the sexual experiences she had in middle school and high school. She never passes any judgment on the men she slept with, and she never calls it abuse, so I don't feel like I can exactly label it that way. But it certainly seemed exploitative and was hard to read. It was also hard to read about how emotionally neglected she was. But she told her truth boldly, and I am very impressed by that.
On a technical level, this is not a typical autobiography. It's a series of vignettes. It's a bit hard to pin down exactly when things are happening, and sometimes the stories didn't seem to be exactly chronological. She also brings up stories with friends she's never mentioned before and she references them as though we should know who they are. So some of the stories seem a bit disjointed and unrelated. It's a stylistic choice that goes very well with the theme of the book. It really emphasizes how she moved between worlds and between friend groups and family. However, it was sometimes frustrating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Homophobia
There is sexual content involving minors with older people.
this book was really absorbing, but pretty disjointed. i thought a decent amount of it seemed like it was more suited for rebecca walker's journal than a published book. i wish there had been more of a narrative arc, and i also wish it had been more queer! we get an endless exhaustive run-down of her many boyfriends, even the ones that don't seem terribly significant to her life, and only a vague mention of the female partner she's raising a child with at the time of the writing. a big theme of this book is the search for home & the lack of a real home, which i could relate to because that's been a big theme in my life. loving women has always felt like home to me & i was wondering if walker felt the same way. but, we never find out!
that said, this book is really lyrical and certain sections pack a powerful punch. she says a lot of really interesting things about difference and it's still worth checking out.
that said, this book is really lyrical and certain sections pack a powerful punch. she says a lot of really interesting things about difference and it's still worth checking out.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Rebecca Walker's storytelling and identity formation is compelling and eye opening. At times, the short chapters can feel disconnected from each other, but overall this is a great read and I highly recommend it!
I have been meaning to read this book since it came out and only recently got a copy. The writing is lovely and reads well. I am very glad I finally read it.
This book was interesting and painful to read. I want to shake Rebecca's parents for their inability to actually parent her. They isolated her in a hundred small ways, and although they both sound like intelligent people, they seem uninterested in providing emotional support to their child. I've never heard of a custody agreement where you relocate your child every 2 years. What was the point? Her father was incapable of seeing how miserable she was in a white suburb, and her mother couldn't be bothered to even register her for school. Both parents provided clothing and shelter, and maybe love, but they also provided an unstable environment where Rebecca felt like she didn't fit in ANYWHERE.
Good job civil rights lawyer and bohemian writer. You're lucky Rebecca managed to self-parent.
Good job civil rights lawyer and bohemian writer. You're lucky Rebecca managed to self-parent.
I would not want to be the child of a celebrity. Add to that the fact that Rebecca Walker is biracial and her parents had a bizarre joint custody agreement and you have the makings of fascinating story.
I think that Rebecca Walker is trying as honestly as she can to tell her story. The fact that she and her mother disagree about her version just makes this more interesting.
I recommend this book to those folks who think they know what their kids are up to. I am parent to two wonderful children and I think we have done a good job of bringing each other to adulthood. However, I don't want to know this much about my kids life.
I think that Rebecca Walker is trying as honestly as she can to tell her story. The fact that she and her mother disagree about her version just makes this more interesting.
I recommend this book to those folks who think they know what their kids are up to. I am parent to two wonderful children and I think we have done a good job of bringing each other to adulthood. However, I don't want to know this much about my kids life.