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chillcox15's review
5.0
Legit blown away by this one. I didn't have any preconceived notions about What We Lose when I picked it up, and I found myself instantly captivated by the form this novel takes, as an essayistic, fragmented, nonlinear (maybe?) autofiction. There's a much more conventional version of this same coming-of-age story that I would have slogged through or put down halfway through when it was due back at the library, but Clemmons has such a light-footed command of craft that I could have easily read this whole thing in one sitting. It's by serendipity that I read this and Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib's essay collection back-to-back, considering they both deal with the premature loss of a mother and the complex questions of black identity in America.
between_2worlds's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent
missmarisolnyc's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
librarygal123's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
itsdeenlee's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
meg_sm's review
4.0
It's hard for me to figure out what to say about this book. There are a lot of reasons that What We Lose didn't quite gel with me, but I still have to give it 4 stars. The (intentionally) jumbled organization, the nonlinear storyline, and the pacing all bothered me, even as I recognized that Zinzi Clemmons is probably a genius and clearly knows what she's doing.
Incidentally, What We Lose reminded me a LOT of Chemistry by Weike Wang, another new release I read this summer. Both are autofiction, both explore complicated parental and romantic relationships, both are about mixed-ethnicity women trying and sometimes failing to find their way.
Oddly, the book's biggest success is also a big turnoff for me, by no fault of the author. At its core, the book is about motherhood and loss, two themes which are in this case inseparably intertwined. There was a profound sorrow to this book, the depth of which I was not prepared for. I expect that anyone who has experienced a similar loss would find What We Lose deeply relatable, but I (blessedly) can't empathize with Thandi's journey. And in my opinion, this is one instance where relating to the main character really does make or break the book. The other aspects of the storyline are interesting, but not fleshed out enough to keep me invested.
TL, DR: I appreciate what Zinzi Clemmons is doing with this book, and you should probably still read it; it just didn't work perfectly for me.
---
EDIT: Adding my favorite quote.
"I've often thought that being a light-skinned black woman is like being a well-dressed person who is also homeless. You may be able to pass in mainstream society, appearing acceptable to others, even desired. But in reality you have nowhere to rest, nowhere to feel safe. Even while you're out in public, feeling fine and free, inside you cannot shake the feeling of rootlessness. Others may even envy you, but this masks the fact that at night, there is nowhere safe for you, no place to call your own." -Zinzi Clemmons, What We Lose
Incidentally, What We Lose reminded me a LOT of Chemistry by Weike Wang, another new release I read this summer. Both are autofiction, both explore complicated parental and romantic relationships, both are about mixed-ethnicity women trying and sometimes failing to find their way.
Oddly, the book's biggest success is also a big turnoff for me, by no fault of the author. At its core, the book is about motherhood and loss, two themes which are in this case inseparably intertwined. There was a profound sorrow to this book, the depth of which I was not prepared for. I expect that anyone who has experienced a similar loss would find What We Lose deeply relatable, but I (blessedly) can't empathize with Thandi's journey. And in my opinion, this is one instance where relating to the main character really does make or break the book. The other aspects of the storyline are interesting, but not fleshed out enough to keep me invested.
TL, DR: I appreciate what Zinzi Clemmons is doing with this book, and you should probably still read it; it just didn't work perfectly for me.
---
EDIT: Adding my favorite quote.
"I've often thought that being a light-skinned black woman is like being a well-dressed person who is also homeless. You may be able to pass in mainstream society, appearing acceptable to others, even desired. But in reality you have nowhere to rest, nowhere to feel safe. Even while you're out in public, feeling fine and free, inside you cannot shake the feeling of rootlessness. Others may even envy you, but this masks the fact that at night, there is nowhere safe for you, no place to call your own." -Zinzi Clemmons, What We Lose
ang_soko31's review
2.0
There were parts that I really loved but there was also a lot I didn't like. I added a star just because there was a quote that truly made me cry and described how I felt about something specific, but overall I feel like something is missing in this book. It was getting interesting in part two because it had so much depth and realist narrative but part three fell flat for me. Another thing that really bothered me was the almost randomness of the articles that don't really make sense with the story. I did read this book in class so we analyzed everything but some of the outside references weren't really needed.
I didn't hate this book but I wish it was less articles and had a clearer ending. I hope Clemmons continues to write books and grow as an author because the idea behind "What We Lose" was intriguing.
I didn't hate this book but I wish it was less articles and had a clearer ending. I hope Clemmons continues to write books and grow as an author because the idea behind "What We Lose" was intriguing.
sunnily's review
4.0
there’s a lot going on in this book, and the author is a great writer and storyteller; the losses are varied and intermingled but universally painful. the part that resonates with me most is of losing your mother.
one of the best / most relatable stories i’ve ever read of the experience of losing your mom as a young adult, the emptiness, the dreams, losing pieces of yourself as you forget what she smells like. amazing to see how different we are, in our experiences of gender and race and love and sexuality and mothering and how grief feels the same across all of it
one of the best / most relatable stories i’ve ever read of the experience of losing your mom as a young adult, the emptiness, the dreams, losing pieces of yourself as you forget what she smells like. amazing to see how different we are, in our experiences of gender and race and love and sexuality and mothering and how grief feels the same across all of it
jacki_f's review against another edition
4.0
This is a novel that reads like non-fiction. It feels so real that it's hard to believe it isn't. It's about a woman named Thandi, who is half South African and half American. She is light skinned and always feels like she doesn't quite belong. It's a book about race, about grief (she loses her mother to cancer) and about relationships. It moves around in time and incorporates quotes and statistics. Occasionally I got a little confused about where we were but it was never for long.
What amazed me about this book was the poignant observations and how real and true it felt.
What amazed me about this book was the poignant observations and how real and true it felt.