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karenleagermain's review against another edition
5.0
Sinclair desires to be a writer and shows a great deal of talent, but her family's poverty and her father's values threaten to keep her from achieving her dream. As she grows older, Sinclair realizes that both her goals and the life that she wants to pursue are in contrast to the way she was raised.
Sinclair's memoir has similar themes to Tara Westover's Educated. Both memoirs are brilliant and eye-opening.
Many times while listening, I paused and resisted to sections of Sinclair's writing. She is such a talented writer. Her prose is gorgeous and she has unique phrasing. Her story is powerful, but made more so by her writing talents.
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, and Bullying
Moderate: Abandonment and Sexual harassment
The story is filled with domestic violence, including both physical and verbal abuse. Sinclair has a mentor ( older male, when she is a teen) who makes suggestive comments to her and touches her inappropriately.ittywitty's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Bullying, Drug use, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Self harm
Moderate: Racism, Abandonment, Body shaming, Classism, Confinement, and Racial slurs
Minor: Cancer
bookdragon217's review against another edition
5.0
There are not enough words to describe the beauty that is found within the pages of How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair. She cracks herself open to show us the deep roots of her family trauma but still manages to hold the ones she loves tenderly with her poetic prose. Her words are captivating & in true poet form, she delivers magical sentences that dance off the page & stick with you. She interrogates the misogyny of the Rastafarian lifestyle her father subjected their family to while at the same time connecting it to the history of colonialism in Jamaica. She calls out the mental abuse she was subjected to but also gives greater context & explanation about how her father could also be viewed as vulnerable to a corrupt system that is fueled by patriarchy.
What struck me deeply was how Sinclair explores such deep themes through a child's perspective. She places us in her stream of conscience and allows us to see her observations and how she comes to make sense of her world in order to save herself. You see Sinclair develop an astute emotional intelligence that allowed her to survive her circumstances on a daily basis. Sinclair's mother offers poetry & literature as a form of liberation & this was so beautiful to see, especially since her own choices were limited by her own father. The books she read opened doors to understanding the world & provided the keys to free herself from her circumstances. This act of love from her mother is what ultimately helps her find her voice in the midst of chaos.
I can still feel the power of Sinclair's narrative voice. This memoir is not only a testimony but an indictment on the systems of oppression that enforce & perpetuate patriarchy. It also serves a reminder that the consequences of colonialism are still being felt today. Sinclair is an author to watch in the future.
Moderate: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny
Minor: Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Body shaming, Cancer, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Colonisation, Classism, Infertility, and Pedophilia
estam1's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Classism, and Colonisation
rootedreader's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Classism, Child abuse, Bullying, Colonisation, Racism, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual harassment and Suicidal thoughts
ginny23's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Classism, and Self harm