Reviews tagging 'Death'

They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib

20 reviews

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful relaxing sad medium-paced

5.0

 - THEY CAN’T KILL US UNTIL THEY KILL US might be the single best essay collection I’ve ever read in my life. Abdurraqib is one of those writers who is able to cut clear to the heart of existence in just a few sentences, and I’m continually in awe of his craft.
- It does help that I was big into the 2000s emo scene, which many of the early essays in this book center on. No, YOU cried about Fall Out Boy while reading this book!
- It’s not just about the music, though, it never is with his writing. Music is life, and it illuminates what it’s like live in Abdurraqib’s body in this world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Grief, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Racism, Murder, Cursing, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Slavery, and Suicide

shoohoob's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.75

 I loved this so much. As a musician and lover of music, reading how Abdurraqib so vividly talks about music is amazing. The way he just weaves artists into stories of his life and experiences is impactful. I’m not usually a big non-fiction/essay reader but I am so so so glad I picked this up and read it. I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I knew/heard all of the artists he talks about, but the ones I did know HIT. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Islamophobia, Racism, Death of parent, Police brutality, Xenophobia, and Grief

samiaba15's review

medium-paced

5.0

One of the best essay collections I’ve ever read in my life.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Mental illness, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Islamophobia, Racism, and Death

Minor: Suicide

mmccombs's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

Poets should always write books! (I liked A Little Devil in America slightly more but like… I will read whatever this man writes)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Death, and Grief

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

boneloose's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Death, and Death of parent

tenderbench's review

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, Death of parent, Death, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Gun violence

Minor: Suicide

yro's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

It was a good read, although it took me a while to read it, but i feel like this book will be more “understood”(?) in a perspective of some who lived through those times.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cursing, Death, Racism, and Religious bigotry

toffishay's review

challenging emotional funny informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexism, Misogyny, Gun violence, Grief, Racism, and Violence

smallredboy's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective fast-paced

5.0

I loved this book; I truly didn't understand the concept of a lyric essay until I got into Abdurraqib's work. He makes reading about anything and everything interesting, even topics I have no interest in. Although, of course, the topics I do have vested interest in did call out to me more: I nearly cried while reading "Fall Out Boy Forever".

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality

Moderate: Racism, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Islamophobia

cannnned's review

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

This is a great book; Abdurraqib  weaves a thought-provoking narrative through music reviews and personal stories. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Cursing, and Suicide

Minor: Drug use