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alainagraff's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Hanif is a master, I’ll think of this book forever.
cloudss's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.5
ohiooooooo. essays about being black in america. about being muslim in america. about musical culture in america. loved the forward and afterward and how abdurraqib uses live music/concerts as a framework to discuss grief and love and emotions and even critiquing carly rae jepsen
bootsmom3's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Racism, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Gun violence, Islamophobia, and Police brutality
gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book doesn't deserve anything less than 5 stars, and I cannot stress enough how impressive it is that this "They Can't Kill Us Until This Kill Us" is so much more than a memoir, fluidly shifting into an in-depth critique about the multi-faceted American music industry and a poetically written dissection on being Black in America, both facets that Hanif Abdurraqib writes in parallel to his own life.
For such a short book, Abdurraqib manages to encompass a plethora of topics, while also managing to make the essays feel both cohesive and nuanced. As a long time fan of her music, I really liked his essays on Carly Rae Jepsen and her brand of joy and longing, but honestly every single one of these pieces are a masterwork in observation and critical analysis. This book was phenomenal, I cannot wait to read through the rest of Abdurraqib's works.
For such a short book, Abdurraqib manages to encompass a plethora of topics, while also managing to make the essays feel both cohesive and nuanced. As a long time fan of her music, I really liked his essays on Carly Rae Jepsen and her brand of joy and longing, but honestly every single one of these pieces are a masterwork in observation and critical analysis. This book was phenomenal, I cannot wait to read through the rest of Abdurraqib's works.
therealcubcake's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.25