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jlauf1996's review
4.0
A beautifully written memoir, clearly voiced by a poet, that, though fragmented, nonlinear, and often not as intimate as many other acclaimed memoirs, still has incredibly important things to say about race, masculinity, and the American experience.
amb3rlina's review against another edition
2.0
Memoir of a man growing up in the shadow of his father.
What I loved:
I found the book written beautifully, but ultimately didn't care at all. The chapters and narrative were disjointed and scattered and I just didn't connect or feel invested or even figure out why I was reading it or what I should be taking away.
What I learned:
???
A favorite passage:
"Debt was about as real as race, meaning not real at all, but capable of fucking up my life in lasting ways."
What I loved:
I found the book written beautifully, but ultimately didn't care at all. The chapters and narrative were disjointed and scattered and I just didn't connect or feel invested or even figure out why I was reading it or what I should be taking away.
What I learned:
???
A favorite passage:
"Debt was about as real as race, meaning not real at all, but capable of fucking up my life in lasting ways."
jonedge's review
3.0
It was just ok. The author is not a great person to get to know? So reading his memoir was a bit of a labor. The story in the beginning around him and his fathers relationship was the most engaging part of the book for me. Went south from there
sujata's review
2.0
It’s hard to say you didn’t enjoy a memoir but I didn’t understand why this person got a book del for a memoir. How we I could have listened to an entire book about the air traffic controller strike which was the first portion and to me the most interested no part of this book.
baumrinr's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this memoir. Gregory Pardlo tells the story of his life and family in a really erudite and transparent way. Several interesting references to poems and novels, and the portrait he draws of his father is pretty heartbreaking.
drsus's review against another edition
3.0
A memoir that was at times interesting but didn't really grip me. Ever since seeing Pushing Tin, I've been intrigued by air traffic controllers, but that is only his father's part of the story. When it gets into his life, I lost a little bit of interest, and honestly, didn't finish. If I didn't have so many other books to get through right now, I might have persevered.
sujata's review against another edition
2.0
It’s hard to say you didn’t enjoy a memoir but I didn’t understand why this person got a book del for a memoir. How we I could have listened to an entire book about the air traffic controller strike which was the first portion and to me the most interested no part of this book.
jdukuray's review against another edition
5.0
Funny, sad memoir of the life and times of a poet's dysfunctional family. Gregory Pardlo, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book of poetry, Digest, has interesting and insightful reflections throughout, related to family, to society, and to literature.