Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.39 AVERAGE
4.39 AVERAGE
This was a really touching book. It makes you realize how different parenting & marriage was back in the old days.
I do wish the book talked more about the son though as in how he truly felt after reading the letters & how he was doing as an adult in Chicago.
I Think all men should read this.
I do wish the book talked more about the son though as in how he truly felt after reading the letters & how he was doing as an adult in Chicago.
I Think all men should read this.
"If you still don't understand why I'm telling you all this, just keep reading. A man's history is all he has."
This is the story you hope you get from the parents who have been cut off by their adult children. This is a story about a father, dying and alone, writing to his adult son. Written in letter format, father to son, you slowly learn of all the regrets the father feels for all the ways he's wronged his son. It's heartfelt but also a tough read. There is a lot of abuse framed as generational and racial trauma. It was eye-opening and heartbreaking and, while I didn't enjoy it, the story was movie and compelling. But it's written easy, as light as this topic can be. It was a very fast read and left me with a little hope.
I appreciated the added concept of death in this story. It was a lovely addition.
This is the story you hope you get from the parents who have been cut off by their adult children. This is a story about a father, dying and alone, writing to his adult son. Written in letter format, father to son, you slowly learn of all the regrets the father feels for all the ways he's wronged his son. It's heartfelt but also a tough read. There is a lot of abuse framed as generational and racial trauma. It was eye-opening and heartbreaking and, while I didn't enjoy it, the story was movie and compelling. But it's written easy, as light as this topic can be. It was a very fast read and left me with a little hope.
I appreciated the added concept of death in this story. It was a lovely addition.
In the authors note, Daniel Black writes “I want readers to reconsider the capacity of our fathers’ hearts. Many of them were handed so little, yet we expected so much. They gave more than they had, but less than we needed”. This book destroyed me at times, crying at how much of my own life I saw written. The book is hard and ugly to read at times, but it’s honesty is what makes it hard to put down. Even through the pain and the disillusionment we experience because of manhood, especially as men of color, we still want to be loved and give love. I thank this book for helping me reconsider my own relationship with my dad.
I so wanted to love this book. The premise was great, but the follow through I found lacking. While it does state Jacob will be writing to his son Isaac, I wasn't expecting the entire story to be letter after letter. I feel like there's a lot to be desired.
Jacob was illiterate most of his life, until his 40s. I find it difficult to believe he could have written this much to his son while on his death bed.
I feel as though we should feel sorry for Jacob because "he didn't know no better" but that excuse gets old, and tired after a while. He was a shit father, and overall not a good person. I don't feel sorry for him at all, he's lying in the bed he made.
I feel for Isaac, growing up with a sperm donor like Jacob. I feel for him losing his mother who he was so obviously close to. I feel for him losing what seemed to be a lover and/or friend to AIDS when it was running rampant. I feel for him not having the male guidance he desperately needed and deserved his entire life.
Jacob was a coward. Too little too late. You couldn't even speak to your son to TRY and apologize? You write letters that he won't get until after you've died? It's bullshit.
Again, I wanted to love it. But I really didn't.
Jacob was illiterate most of his life, until his 40s. I find it difficult to believe he could have written this much to his son while on his death bed.
I feel as though we should feel sorry for Jacob because "he didn't know no better" but that excuse gets old, and tired after a while. He was a shit father, and overall not a good person. I don't feel sorry for him at all, he's lying in the bed he made.
I feel for Isaac, growing up with a sperm donor like Jacob. I feel for him losing his mother who he was so obviously close to. I feel for him losing what seemed to be a lover and/or friend to AIDS when it was running rampant. I feel for him not having the male guidance he desperately needed and deserved his entire life.
Jacob was a coward. Too little too late. You couldn't even speak to your son to TRY and apologize? You write letters that he won't get until after you've died? It's bullshit.
Again, I wanted to love it. But I really didn't.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i don't even know how to review this one. it really opened up to me about how easy it is to blame our parents for their bigotry, not realising the centuries of ancestry and upbringing and generational trauma that cause them to be that way. Black tells this story well, it was easy to read and written in such a real way. the most gutwrenching part of this novel, however, that made me take off a star is simply that there was no resolution, no what happens after. and i suppose that's life, people die and take their pride and stubbornness to the grave with them. i just feel bad for the son who can hate his father for being abusive throughout his life but not resent him for the awful person he had been before, and cry for the opinions and misdirections imposed on him, shaping his view of society and ruining who his father could have been. he can't do all that and go through all of his emotions because his father is gone and there will never be a sense of closure and a sense of understanding. the ending felt robbed, just like isaacs childhood was and i just hoped for more. sometimes i would like to read a black story that doesn't end in heartbreak and ruin and i know that's not life but damn, if all we're teaching is the aftereffects of slavery have been so prevalent that the damages done cannot be reconciled, i can't rate this 5 stars. i'll probably change my mind, i'm most likley just a bit sad.
This story was 3.5 stars for me. I really wish I could have heard from more POVs. The topics were important and Jacob seemed sincere, but I think the book could have had more depth if we could have heard from more characters.
3.5 stars
This book had a lot going for it. I enjoyed it's discussion on intergenerational trauma, how family relationships change over time and throughout generations, and the importance of knowledge. I enjoyed watching our character fight his ignorance.
For me the book picked up more around 80 pages in when our MC had his son. I picked this book up because I wanted to read about father son relationships and I just feel I didn't get enough of that in this story. I also felt that the ending left me wanting a bit more closure, but I also understand that our character didn't get closure, so neither do we.
This book was very well written, I enjoyed the writing style and found the characters complex and compelling.
This book had a lot going for it. I enjoyed it's discussion on intergenerational trauma, how family relationships change over time and throughout generations, and the importance of knowledge. I enjoyed watching our character fight his ignorance.
For me the book picked up more around 80 pages in when our MC had his son. I picked this book up because I wanted to read about father son relationships and I just feel I didn't get enough of that in this story. I also felt that the ending left me wanting a bit more closure, but I also understand that our character didn't get closure, so neither do we.
This book was very well written, I enjoyed the writing style and found the characters complex and compelling.
Such a simple yet complicated & poignant story. Absolutely beautifully written.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes