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honeyvoiced's review against another edition
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.0
“Things don’t fall apart. Things hold.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Cancer
dfarmil's review against another edition
4.0
Lucille Clifton beautifully paints her complicated family dynamic. I really enjoyed the way she tells of her love for each family member despite their faults and the tribulations that may have occurred to complicate those relationships!
thatbookinherbag's review
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
“Things don't fall apart. Things hold. Lines connect in thin ways that last and last and lives become generations made out of pictures and words just kept.”
This was a hidden gem. Written in 1976 by Lucille Clifton, an American poet, who mourns the loss of her father and reflects on the generations that came before her extending to Caroline Donald, born in 1822 among the Dahomey people before being captured and forced to go to America as a slave. Each member of the family is deeply connected by those who came before.
This was short, and nearly read like poetry. I thought it was beautiful, yet understated. So much was said in such few pages.
moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
5.0
This is a short but compelling and poetic memoir of a family. It ripples and echoes around various ancestors to show us a partial and particular picture of the author and her family. This isnt an epic about the details of a family, but the details that are shared speak volumes about family and do paint a vivid emotional picture about the dynamics of this family.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Murder, Slavery, and Emotional abuse
chillcox15's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. A clarion call through grief, but still rather slight.