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smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
4.0
A really honest memoir from a second generation Pakistani Canadian Muslim man who grew up in Scarborough and spent his whole life battling racism and Islamophobia. It was eye-opening to see just how far Canada still has to come to be a more accepting country. We truly aren't that better than America but the author spent time living and working in both countries and it was dispiriting to hear about his bad experiences serving in government under Trudeau's cabinet. Great on audio read by the author, this is definitely a must-read especially for fans of Can you hear me now? or Indian in the cabinet (other Canadian memoirs from BIPOC politicians).
readwithev's review against another edition
5.0
Literally I could not put this memoir down. Finished it in 3 days! I liked the pacing and structure. The scenes Omer describes are vivid, but not long winded. I really felt his pain. His voice is distinct, empathetic and introspective. His journey is inspiring, but most importantly his personal revelations about race and identity have me re-examining my own perceptions and biases.
I relate a lot to his struggle with imposter syndrome (especially early on in his professional career), racial exclusion, being the “token diversity hire” etc.
⚠️warning⚠️ Omer does get a little politically charged in Chapters 23 and 24. However, he studied international politics and has a law degree, so...what do you expect?
I relate a lot to his struggle with imposter syndrome (especially early on in his professional career), racial exclusion, being the “token diversity hire” etc.
⚠️warning⚠️ Omer does get a little politically charged in Chapters 23 and 24. However, he studied international politics and has a law degree, so...what do you expect?
bookishbena's review
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
To me, this was not a memoir. For me, memoirs dig deep and get personal, and Brown Boy just didn’t do that in my opinion. Even though I’ve just read a whole book about his life, I still feel like I don’t know Omer Aziz.
Of course, in many instances I resonated with Aziz. When it came to the feelings of imposter syndrome, being the only person of color in white spaces, being a child of immigrants who have sacrificed so much for you. But all those expressions felt surface level or Aziz would go straight to intellectualizing what happened. Aziz tended to end chapters with long winded philosophizing.
I almost didn’t read past the prologue. I think it’s very weird that Aziz used the Israeli occupation as a backdrop for his internal conflict, centering himself where it’s not his place to do so. I also think his use of East and West was cringe as hell. (A lot of the book was pretty neoliberal in that way)
The ending was also an issue for me. I don’t want to say it wasn’t satisfying because as this is a memoir, those are Aziz’s actual life events but I didn’t understand it. How did his visit to Pakistan liberate him? Aziz does not try to explain or express why or how in any way. Maybe it’d in the subtext, but if so, it’s extremely subtle.
Overall, I see the vision here, but i think the execution was poor. I think this should’ve been a political, sociological, philosophical, or any other kind of text that drew from Aziz’s personal experiences. Or at least that’s what I got from it. This book was definitely not for me, but it’s probably right for someone else. 3 stars.