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hannahrose_99's review against another edition
5.0
i feel like i cannot put into words how much i adored this book. i think hanif is one of the best writers, if not the best, of our time. the way he ties an essay about a concert into discussions of grief and race and heartbreak is seamless. i trust him completely as a writer in every essay. i cannot speak highly enough of this book! would definitely recommend giving the audiobook a listen too!
also, the amount of essays in here praising carly rae jepsen as the pop star of our time, and diving into her catalog about desire and physical closeness were so fantastic.
also, the amount of essays in here praising carly rae jepsen as the pop star of our time, and diving into her catalog about desire and physical closeness were so fantastic.
blackbearbookclub's review against another edition
5.0
Well damn...the people were right about this one. Hanif is an actual magician with words and this book has cast its damn spell on me. It could only be Hanif who convinces me to listen to a Carly Rae Jepsen album after finishing his book and while she won't be a constant on my playlist, I found myself respecting her art under the influence of Hanif's words. This collection is phenomenal and should be required reading. And yes, I did add all of his other books to my shopping cart as soon as I finished this one, but that's none of your business.
transfigurations's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Gale's Tear Stats: 3
melisbooked's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Hanif is so wise and his connections to music throughout the last decades provide the reader with a visual of what it means to be a black man in America.
allisonwhite167's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5
SO incredible. Abdurraqib’s writing is so beautiful and so powerful. I wish i had the physical copy highlight so many of the amazing lines, but hearing him narrate the audiobook was great too.
SO incredible. Abdurraqib’s writing is so beautiful and so powerful. I wish i had the physical copy highlight so many of the amazing lines, but hearing him narrate the audiobook was great too.
oliviahewitt's review against another edition
5.0
This book came for my whole life and then some. Hanif is somehow turning us all into Carly Rae Jepsen fans with 2 essays??
mathman329's review against another edition
5.0
2024 Book Review - Book No. 12: “They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us” written by Hanif Abdurraqib
Date started: 3/1/24
Date finished: 3/13/24
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (would recommend reading if you like poetry, music, and contemporary social issues)
Spoiler free review: I’ve long been a fan of Philly punk/alternative outfit The Wonder Years. Their lead singer, Dan, often posts about Hanif Abdurraqib and his works on social media, and I’ve always thought that I should check him out. I was thrilled when this was chosen as our March book for Book Club. And while my expectations were high, this was even better than I hoped.
Throughout this collection of essays before and up to 2017, I found myself lost in Abdurraqib’s prose. Essays about late 90’s/early 00’s emo/punk/alternative bands brought waves of nostalgia crashing onto me. His insight into scene bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and The Wonder Years and the way he connected with them gave each band another dimension for me, one that I hadn’t before considered.
Other essays focus on race and culture, including the challenges of being an African American and Muslim in a country where, unfortunately, it’s not always easy to be either. While I don’t personally face the same challenges and dangers Abdurraqib writes about in these essays, I do empathize and wish our country was one where no one had to face such hardships. That a man as talented as Abdurraqib is has endured profiling, both racial and religious, at many points of his life is sickening. That anyone should have to deal with the questions, the looks, the stereotyping that Abdurraqib writes about is heartbreaking, but it’s his honest and insightful prose that grabs you and cries out for help not for himself, but for all marginalized populations.
With each new essay, I found myself wondering how we can change our country in a way that we still acknowledge our horrible past and historical differences, and yet forge a better future where no one has to live in fear of these challenges. I know this sounds ideal and naive. Change most certainly won’t be easy, as “They Can’t Kill Us…” desperately and maddeningly seems to confirm. But if there’s any way to begin a change, I would say reading this book in an attempt to better understand those different from us, and encouraging others to do the same, is at least a starting point.
Date started: 3/1/24
Date finished: 3/13/24
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (would recommend reading if you like poetry, music, and contemporary social issues)
Spoiler free review: I’ve long been a fan of Philly punk/alternative outfit The Wonder Years. Their lead singer, Dan, often posts about Hanif Abdurraqib and his works on social media, and I’ve always thought that I should check him out. I was thrilled when this was chosen as our March book for Book Club. And while my expectations were high, this was even better than I hoped.
Throughout this collection of essays before and up to 2017, I found myself lost in Abdurraqib’s prose. Essays about late 90’s/early 00’s emo/punk/alternative bands brought waves of nostalgia crashing onto me. His insight into scene bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and The Wonder Years and the way he connected with them gave each band another dimension for me, one that I hadn’t before considered.
Other essays focus on race and culture, including the challenges of being an African American and Muslim in a country where, unfortunately, it’s not always easy to be either. While I don’t personally face the same challenges and dangers Abdurraqib writes about in these essays, I do empathize and wish our country was one where no one had to face such hardships. That a man as talented as Abdurraqib is has endured profiling, both racial and religious, at many points of his life is sickening. That anyone should have to deal with the questions, the looks, the stereotyping that Abdurraqib writes about is heartbreaking, but it’s his honest and insightful prose that grabs you and cries out for help not for himself, but for all marginalized populations.
With each new essay, I found myself wondering how we can change our country in a way that we still acknowledge our horrible past and historical differences, and yet forge a better future where no one has to live in fear of these challenges. I know this sounds ideal and naive. Change most certainly won’t be easy, as “They Can’t Kill Us…” desperately and maddeningly seems to confirm. But if there’s any way to begin a change, I would say reading this book in an attempt to better understand those different from us, and encouraging others to do the same, is at least a starting point.