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ktaroo939's review against another edition
5.0
Heartbreaking book but so well written and so powerful. I think this schools be on the required reading list for highschool.
laura_corsi's review against another edition
Published in 2015, you would think that it was written in 2020. It turns out that when black people said that the story of George Floyd was no different than a thousand other murders, they were not exaggerating in any way. The only difference being video witnesses. Beautifully written elegy for black people in America and all over the world. A must read!
mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
3.0
I’m going to be honest: I do not like Ta-Nehisi Coates' writing style. I tried reading We Were Eight Years in Power. Couldn’t get past the first chapter. I did read The Water Dancer. Couldn’t stand it. Basically, I was predisposed not to like this either. The shortness of the audiobook is what swayed me to give it a chance anyways.
Surprise, surprise. It was a mediocre experience.
My issue with Coates’ writing is that it’s always so academic in the most elitist, pretentious definition of the word. I respect that he’s an educated man and proud of it. I just find that he often prioritizes showing this off over accessibility: a common problem in non-fiction writing of a certain calibre in general. It is very dense and repetitive because the goal is to establish how smart Coates is, not to inform. The dryness does not help. Altogether, the effect is like reading a textbook.
Now looking at Between the World and Me specifically - the first part is very stream of consciousness which I personally do not like. I find it hard to keep track of what’s being said, especially when I was listening via audiobook where clear delineation is important because I can’t easily ascertain what’s going on. It was difficult to stay interested after a point as I no longer felt like I was able to properly take in the information he was constantly throwing at me.
This is intended to function not only as a book for other people to read, it is primarily a letter to his son. It felt more like a lecture. The way that Coates chose to share his wisdom came off as needlessly condescending. I’m not sure how old his son is now, but if he’s old enough to read this book I think Coates could have lightened up enough to sound more like he’s just trying to talk to him versus trying to knock some sense into him. As a person who's been on the receiving end of this kind of impartment I always end up tuning it out because it becomes clear it is more about them than it is about me. I recently read The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin which begins with a letter from Baldwin to his nephew. Now that was a letter I could get behind. It took him only a few scant pages to do what took Coates’ 100.
Admittedly the second part is a lot stronger. At this point Coates seems to ease up on the authoritarianism for an authentic, heartfelt attempt at reaching his son. I found this approach far more palatable. I could really feel Coates’ emotions; the fear he had for his sons’ life, the worry that stalks him at every turn, the marvel at his mere existence. It was genuinely touching how much he loves him. If the whole book was so sincere I think the message would have been twice as constructive. On top of the tonal shift, the second part was summarily focused better, less redundant, and used actual anecdotes to support his points and communicate his feelings effectively rather than drone on in the form of long tangents.
I knew exactly what I was getting into starting this book. I have no one to blame except myself for my disinterest. If you like Ta-nehisi Coates you will be fine. If you don’t keep it moving. It’s only the same from here.
I will close with a shout-out to a quote that unexpectedly resonated: “Black people love their children with a kind of obsession. You are all we have. And you come to us already in danger. I think we would like to kill you ourselves before seeing you killed by the streets America made”. I found this to be a quite poignant insight into Black intergenerational trauma.
The Water Dancer Review
Surprise, surprise. It was a mediocre experience.
My issue with Coates’ writing is that it’s always so academic in the most elitist, pretentious definition of the word. I respect that he’s an educated man and proud of it. I just find that he often prioritizes showing this off over accessibility: a common problem in non-fiction writing of a certain calibre in general. It is very dense and repetitive because the goal is to establish how smart Coates is, not to inform. The dryness does not help. Altogether, the effect is like reading a textbook.
Now looking at Between the World and Me specifically - the first part is very stream of consciousness which I personally do not like. I find it hard to keep track of what’s being said, especially when I was listening via audiobook where clear delineation is important because I can’t easily ascertain what’s going on. It was difficult to stay interested after a point as I no longer felt like I was able to properly take in the information he was constantly throwing at me.
This is intended to function not only as a book for other people to read, it is primarily a letter to his son. It felt more like a lecture. The way that Coates chose to share his wisdom came off as needlessly condescending. I’m not sure how old his son is now, but if he’s old enough to read this book I think Coates could have lightened up enough to sound more like he’s just trying to talk to him versus trying to knock some sense into him. As a person who's been on the receiving end of this kind of impartment I always end up tuning it out because it becomes clear it is more about them than it is about me. I recently read The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin which begins with a letter from Baldwin to his nephew. Now that was a letter I could get behind. It took him only a few scant pages to do what took Coates’ 100.
Admittedly the second part is a lot stronger. At this point Coates seems to ease up on the authoritarianism for an authentic, heartfelt attempt at reaching his son. I found this approach far more palatable. I could really feel Coates’ emotions; the fear he had for his sons’ life, the worry that stalks him at every turn, the marvel at his mere existence. It was genuinely touching how much he loves him. If the whole book was so sincere I think the message would have been twice as constructive. On top of the tonal shift, the second part was summarily focused better, less redundant, and used actual anecdotes to support his points and communicate his feelings effectively rather than drone on in the form of long tangents.
I knew exactly what I was getting into starting this book. I have no one to blame except myself for my disinterest. If you like Ta-nehisi Coates you will be fine. If you don’t keep it moving. It’s only the same from here.
I will close with a shout-out to a quote that unexpectedly resonated: “Black people love their children with a kind of obsession. You are all we have. And you come to us already in danger. I think we would like to kill you ourselves before seeing you killed by the streets America made”. I found this to be a quite poignant insight into Black intergenerational trauma.
The Water Dancer Review
katnortonwriter's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
savaging's review against another edition
5.0
Completely brilliant. Giving me so much to think and feel about the nature of racism and the nature of struggle.
nebulous_tide's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Police brutality
Moderate: Classism, Death, Hate crime, and Slavery
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, and Homophobia
lblasko's review against another edition
5.0
Truly amazing. His writing is the definition of good writing. We read this for my highschool class, and there is so much packed in those pages.