Scan barcode
roguepages's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, and Adult/minor relationship
barbarella85's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Violence, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia
caitlinxreads's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, and Self harm
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Abandonment
Minor: Domestic abuse
not_another_ana's review against another edition
4.0
After more than nineteen years, my father still could not see me. To him, nothing I wrote would ever matter. Poetry was the voice I had forged because for so long I had been voiceless; I had written every word because I wanted him to hear me. Now I knew he never would.
I find it tricky to cast judgement on a memoir. How can I sit here and judge what happens when it's not just plot but someone's actual life and experience, it feels voyeuristic. At the same time the author is handing me their life on a platter, is asking me to come and see and experience. In How to Say Babylon Safiya Sinclair presents us the story of her life growing up in Jamaica under the control of a domineering abusive father who used Rastafarianism to control and terrorize the family. We're taken on this journey to her childhood, her struggles and how she persevered and became an award winning poet. She also explains what Rastafarianism is, how it got started, what are the practices and beliefs, and how that affected her.
I could not put this down, I read it in four days. The prose is beautiful and fluid, you could probably infer her background as a poet. If you don't enjoy purple prose, this might not be a good fit for you, for me it worked because I felt like I was right there in her head with her as the events happened. And boy did things happen to her, this is a book that deals with such complex and heart wrenching abuse. Verbal abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, spiritual abuse, at times it felt so heavy and anxiety inducing. I was at a roller coaster right before the drop, or a balloon inflating with no sign of stopping and then... Well the drop didn't happen, the balloon never popped.
That was my only real issue with the book. The pacing brught us to this dazzling height only to gently let us down. To me it felt like perhaps she could have waited to write this memoir, there were a lot of painful memories she had to face and put to paper and the more recent ones just didn't come across as robust as the past. By this I mean I felt like she's too close to the point in time where her book ends to have been able to pull it apart and analyze it, process it. There's a lot of silence at the end, like the story was cherry-picked in some spots.
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Bullying, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Cursing
alexhaydon's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
cnlarge's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Racism, Physical abuse, Drug use, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
lngoldstein's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Self harm, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault
kenopedidntthinkso's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Death
Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
chareadsss's review against another edition
4.5
The reader gets an insight into Rastafari, and what it can be like for women of Rastafari, which was not something I was very well versed in. This memoir was an eye opener for me and, whilst a lot could be said for Sinclair's father and his extreme views, I have a lot of respect for how she dealt with things and am glad she got to speak her truth.
I loved seeing (or reading, I guess) Sinclair take more control and agency, become more empowered, and embrace becoming a woman unapologetically. The same for her mother as it was also heart warming to see her grow into a different version of herself that she was never allowed to be.
I normally don't care for books being split into parts as it often seems quite pointless and doesn't always serve much of a purpose. However, I think it worked well here and each part felt like it had a clear purpose in highlighting the different stages in Sinclair's life/journey as well as the shifts in the relationship with her father.
I did struggle with the length at times but that could've also been down to the fact that life was life-ing (as it does đ ) around the same time. Everytime I picked this back up though, I became so engrossed and invested in Sinclair's story, and wanted to learn/read more. Such a great and powerful read that had me feeling A LOT. I could say so much more but if you haven't read it already, BUY IT. READ IT. That is all.
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Physical abuse
corinth113's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Bullying and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Self harm, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Drug use, and Sexual assault