2.85k reviews for:

How to Say Babylon

Safiya Sinclair

4.52 AVERAGE

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Recommendations for this book followed me around for months, and I missed her by a few hours when she was doing a reading in Seattle where I was on vacation but I’m glad I finally got to read it. I read the first third with interest but not joy, it felt like we were bearing witness to her trauma and I dreaded each time I picked it up. But her dedication to and gift for poetry is miraculous, uplifting, and comforting, and I drank up the rest eagerly. Seeing Ms. Sinclair’s current-day flair for fashion is the icing on the cake for her recent success. I might actually buy a book of poetry after this!
dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

A really good memoir. This one reminded me a lot of Educated. Very well written, the language was flowy and descriptive, which makes sense given her background in poetry. It was a little slow at parts, though then the end felt rushed. I would have like to know more about where her siblings ended up and her relationship will all of them, not just her dad. Otherwise, not much to add, it was an interesting and pretty engaging read.
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sheeshaleesh's review

5.0
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It is obvious that this was written by a VERY gifted poet. I don’t have the proper vocabulary to express how beautiful and soul-shaking this memoir is.
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