Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - How to Say Babylon

Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

55 reviews

intensej's review

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

5.0

Sinclair's visceral and lush descriptions of her childhood in Jamaica blew me away. She is fearless as she unpacks her family history. I really loved the poetry of Sinclair's writing. The phrase "my heart was a bursting mango" made me smile (p. 82). Sinclair's focus on her relationship with her mother and her siblings reminded me of The Yellow House and Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir. How to Say Babylon is a must read for lovers of memoirs, poetry, and strong women. If you are ever thinking of visiting Jamaica, I highly recommend this book.

"Beyond the hazy light of the veiled world lives this moment of my life diverging--I went one way, and the other girl, the girl I never became, went the other, with all her mysterious possibilities, all her unknown and possible worlds" (p. 122).

Content: graphic descriptions of suicide, violence

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lcg527's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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froon's review

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4.5

what a meditative, thoughtful book. the way that sinclair weaves the large with the small is so impressive⏤the larger history of the rastafari with the history of her family, a legacy of injustice with the injustice in her lineage. the care in which she approaches her parents without pulling punches is expert.

i saw a goodreads review frustrated with the “lack of structural payoff,” and i find that so deeply annoying. this is one of the most satisfying endings of a memoir, especially one that spans such a range of time and history, that i’ve ever read. there is a distinct and emotional climax AND the payoff of the aftermath at the end. again, a sign of the skill that sinclair has.

my biggest issue, keeping this from a true five star read, was how slow the beginning was to get through. the pace was slow to the point that it felt dense and difficult to traverse.

there is nothing like a memoir written by a poet. i’ll chew on some of these sentences for some time. maybe i’ll really apply for grad school this time :)

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darcygabe's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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salemander's review against another edition

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5.0

every single word of this book was so beautifully thought out. such a heart wrenching story that was so poetically told and one of the realest portrayals of the struggle of forgiveness and the aftermath of abuse.

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mmccombs's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

3.5

The writing was very well done and I really enjoyed learning more about Rastafari and the ways in which Sinclair navigated her family life. Making connections between the colonial past and present of Jamaica, the abusive control exacted by her father, and the long line of women who persevered and carried her was very well done. I did think it was fairly repetitive and slow, I most enjoyed the first few chapters and the last because that’s where she was able to round up and bring together her ideas.

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emelynreads's review

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dark emotional informative tense slow-paced

4.5

Incredible writing that is lyrical and illustrious. I could so easily picture myself in the Jamaican setting. Which comes with warning as the author delves into darker topics, because it is very tense to read at times and all the emotion/ reality is laid bare.

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