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4.39 AVERAGE
4.39 AVERAGE
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
I honestly don’t even know how to review this one. This always happens to me when a book feels like more than just a fictional story someone came up with and put to paper, when it feels more important than entertainment. The book starts with a note from the author, and the following is the first paragraph:
“When, in 2013, my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I knew what it meant - he’d soon forget what he’d done or said to me over the years. In fact, he’d need my sympathy, perhaps my financial assistance, as his memory faded away. For a long time, I had wanted us to hash things out, to speak honestly about how we had hurt or disappointed one another over the years. But Daddy’s mind left like a dream at dawn. And now the encounter could happen only in my imagination.”
So the author imagines his father writing out his history as a black man growing up during the middle of the 20th century, to explain why he was the way he was, and also his journey to changing himself and his mind to be able to give his son the love that he deserved. This is in a format of a letter from the father to his son. His son is gay, and the father struggles to accept him as “a man” because he was raised to believe that a gay man is no man at all and he essentially spends his son’s life mourning the son he wished he had, which of course drives a wedge between them.
This was beautiful and sad and upsetting and a little hopeful. The author’s note at the beginning alone got me choked up, and I knew I was about to read something special.
Read this. That’s all I can say.
“When, in 2013, my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I knew what it meant - he’d soon forget what he’d done or said to me over the years. In fact, he’d need my sympathy, perhaps my financial assistance, as his memory faded away. For a long time, I had wanted us to hash things out, to speak honestly about how we had hurt or disappointed one another over the years. But Daddy’s mind left like a dream at dawn. And now the encounter could happen only in my imagination.”
So the author imagines his father writing out his history as a black man growing up during the middle of the 20th century, to explain why he was the way he was, and also his journey to changing himself and his mind to be able to give his son the love that he deserved. This is in a format of a letter from the father to his son. His son is gay, and the father struggles to accept him as “a man” because he was raised to believe that a gay man is no man at all and he essentially spends his son’s life mourning the son he wished he had, which of course drives a wedge between them.
This was beautiful and sad and upsetting and a little hopeful. The author’s note at the beginning alone got me choked up, and I knew I was about to read something special.
Read this. That’s all I can say.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
A heartbreaking and incredibly moving story about a father writing to his son at the end of his life, trying to atone for his mistakes. This book was slow to start for me and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it but once we got to Jacob's life with his wife and the struggles of their marriage, I was hooked!
Spanning decades, this story starts in 1950s rural Arkansas, where the legacy of slavery is still very much present. Jacob grows up living with his grandfather, who doesn't set the best example of manhood. My heart ached for Rachel, who marries Jacob when she gets pregnant and has to give up her dreams of going to college. These characters were so realistically flawed and their lives so well written!
Overall what I loved the most I think was that while Jacob made some horrible mistakes, he did try to change and took it upon himself to try to make it up to his son. Highly recommended and good on audio. Much thanks to Libro.fm for my ALC!
CW: domestic abuse, alcoholism, abortion, homophobia, death from cancer
Spanning decades, this story starts in 1950s rural Arkansas, where the legacy of slavery is still very much present. Jacob grows up living with his grandfather, who doesn't set the best example of manhood. My heart ached for Rachel, who marries Jacob when she gets pregnant and has to give up her dreams of going to college. These characters were so realistically flawed and their lives so well written!
Overall what I loved the most I think was that while Jacob made some horrible mistakes, he did try to change and took it upon himself to try to make it up to his son. Highly recommended and good on audio. Much thanks to Libro.fm for my ALC!
CW: domestic abuse, alcoholism, abortion, homophobia, death from cancer
3.5 stars. This is a painful letter written from an African American father to his gay son. He is attempting to apologize for the wrongs he has done to him and explains the terrible things that happened to him as a child that made him be how he was. A lot of cultural beliefs play a role in how and what people do. I think this is a brave attempt to explain some of this, but I was left wanting a bit more. Maybe the letter format is why? Maybe I want a reconciliation when there just shouldn’t be?