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thelenjanae's review against another edition
3.0
This was okay. Great topics, just slow storytelling for me. I did enjoy learning a bit about Cuban culture.
ralovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Recommended
I bought this book when the author's books were burned at a southern university after she had the gall to speak the truth about white privilege. I let WAY too much time pass before I read this excellent essay collection, but I'm glad I finally did. In 9 pieces, the author explores her experience as a first-generation college student, the impact of the Cuban community on politics, her family dynamics, and more. It's really well done and so thought-provoking, and now I need to read everything she's ever written. Recommended for fans of Jesmyn Ward, Audre Lorde, and Rebecca Solnit, as well as receptive learners who want more Latinx voices in their reading life.
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I tell readers that I see it as my job to tell stories that encourage people to act on their empathy - not just to feel something, as feeling is not enough, but to be moved to do something substantial with those feelings, some action that works to fix the systems that required the need for books like mine in the first place. (40, "Nothing is Impossible in America!")
The real truth is that people of color didn't create these problems [racial inequity], and we don't have magical solutions to them that we are keeping from you. We're in more vulnerable positions than you are. We need you to solve these problems because it is costing us our lives. You are part of these systems yet refuse to believe how immensely you benefit from them. Losing privilege can feel a lot like inequality. If something feels unfair to you as a white person, it's likely that equality is actually being achieved in that moment. (41, "Nothing is Impossible in America!")
I don't see the act of writing as a form of therapy, but I do think that what you write will reveal things you didn't consciously recognize as feelings you held, expose beliefs you didn't know you had. (191, "A Prognosis")
Writing fiction is my work, my form of artful avoidance that always inevitably leads me right back to the heart of the thing I am avoiding. (191, "A Prognosis")
I bought this book when the author's books were burned at a southern university after she had the gall to speak the truth about white privilege. I let WAY too much time pass before I read this excellent essay collection, but I'm glad I finally did. In 9 pieces, the author explores her experience as a first-generation college student, the impact of the Cuban community on politics, her family dynamics, and more. It's really well done and so thought-provoking, and now I need to read everything she's ever written. Recommended for fans of Jesmyn Ward, Audre Lorde, and Rebecca Solnit, as well as receptive learners who want more Latinx voices in their reading life.
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I tell readers that I see it as my job to tell stories that encourage people to act on their empathy - not just to feel something, as feeling is not enough, but to be moved to do something substantial with those feelings, some action that works to fix the systems that required the need for books like mine in the first place. (40, "Nothing is Impossible in America!")
The real truth is that people of color didn't create these problems [racial inequity], and we don't have magical solutions to them that we are keeping from you. We're in more vulnerable positions than you are. We need you to solve these problems because it is costing us our lives. You are part of these systems yet refuse to believe how immensely you benefit from them. Losing privilege can feel a lot like inequality. If something feels unfair to you as a white person, it's likely that equality is actually being achieved in that moment. (41, "Nothing is Impossible in America!")
I don't see the act of writing as a form of therapy, but I do think that what you write will reveal things you didn't consciously recognize as feelings you held, expose beliefs you didn't know you had. (191, "A Prognosis")
Writing fiction is my work, my form of artful avoidance that always inevitably leads me right back to the heart of the thing I am avoiding. (191, "A Prognosis")
balladofreadingqueer's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I did not love this essay collection, it has been on my tbr pile for a while and I was a little disappointed with it. Jennine Capo Crucet has some interesting essays that discuss her family relationships, particularly with her father and some discussion around her Cuban heritage. I enjoyed the discussions and analysis of her as a first generation college student and professor.
The majority of the book discusses her interactions with white American culture and how she views it. She states all the differences she sees, particularly around the Trump presidency. I think there are some limits though, she rarely acknowledges or discusses her white passing privilege or the conservative elements of Miami Cuban culture that uphold white supremacy, it is largely discussed in a “we couldn’t vote for a Clinton”. This is a valid and interesting discussion but I feel like there could be so much more said.
The majority of the book discusses her interactions with white American culture and how she views it. She states all the differences she sees, particularly around the Trump presidency. I think there are some limits though, she rarely acknowledges or discusses her white passing privilege or the conservative elements of Miami Cuban culture that uphold white supremacy, it is largely discussed in a “we couldn’t vote for a Clinton”. This is a valid and interesting discussion but I feel like there could be so much more said.