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jasbeingjas's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
This was an incredible collection of essays. I think personally I could not even fully appreciate some of the essays because I’m not musically inclined. I haven’t done an audiobook in a long time but this one has made me open to more. I didn’t expect how choked up I would feel at the end when I got to the acknowledgments. It crept up on me just what a beautiful exploration of a wide range of emotions these essays are.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Racism, and Gun violence
Minor: Suicide
bashsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
Okay, I absolutely LOVE Hanif Abdurraqib, and I love They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us. I listened to the essay collection slowly, pausing to listen to all the different artists and albums and songs he touches on (Abdurraqib has many a wonderful Spotify playlist to help with this endeavor, including one called They Can't Kill Us. that is a companion to the collection.)
So the context easily gets a 5/5, full stars from me. Read the essays, read them again, read Abdurraqib's other work. Keen-eyed observers will notice, though, that I only gave this 4.75 stars. Why?
Well, I listened to the audiobook production of They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us, and it is a super interesting listen... but it's not the same text as the text versions. Firstly, Abdurraqib adds in a lot of author's notes, editoralizing in a way that I can sympathize with because he came back to this text to read it for the audiobook a few years after publishing. Secondly, one essay is not conveyable verbally - it's an erasure essay, and Abdurraqib notes that he couldn't figure out a way to speak it without compromising the piece. I grabbed a physical copy of the book from my library to read that essay ("August 9, 2014"), and I agree with his assessment that it wouldn't be an easy one to read aloud.
The fact that the audio and written version of the book are different isn't a bad thing per se, but it is a complicated one. And so I don't consider my rating a mark against it as much of a signal/acknowledgment that I read a different version of the text than people with physical or digital copies.
All that said - my favorite essays from this collection were "Under Half-Lit Fluorescents: The Wonder Years And The Great Suburban Narrative," "Death Becomes You: My Chemical Romance And Ten Years Of The Black Parade," "Nina Simone Was Very Black," "Serena Williams And The Policing Of Imagined Arrogance," and "The White Rapper Joke."
So the context easily gets a 5/5, full stars from me. Read the essays, read them again, read Abdurraqib's other work. Keen-eyed observers will notice, though, that I only gave this 4.75 stars. Why?
Well, I listened to the audiobook production of They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us, and it is a super interesting listen... but it's not the same text as the text versions. Firstly, Abdurraqib adds in a lot of author's notes, editoralizing in a way that I can sympathize with because he came back to this text to read it for the audiobook a few years after publishing. Secondly, one essay is not conveyable verbally - it's an erasure essay, and Abdurraqib notes that he couldn't figure out a way to speak it without compromising the piece. I grabbed a physical copy of the book from my library to read that essay ("August 9, 2014"), and I agree with his assessment that it wouldn't be an easy one to read aloud.
The fact that the audio and written version of the book are different isn't a bad thing per se, but it is a complicated one. And so I don't consider my rating a mark against it as much of a signal/acknowledgment that I read a different version of the text than people with physical or digital copies.
All that said - my favorite essays from this collection were "Under Half-Lit Fluorescents: The Wonder Years And The Great Suburban Narrative," "Death Becomes You: My Chemical Romance And Ten Years Of The Black Parade," "Nina Simone Was Very Black," "Serena Williams And The Policing Of Imagined Arrogance," and "The White Rapper Joke."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Death, Police brutality, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Hate crime, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Cursing, and Suicide
Minor: Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Murder, Drug abuse, and Drug use
bootsmom3's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Racism, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Gun violence, Islamophobia, and Police brutality
librarymouse's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
There is so much contained is such a short book. I really enjoyed the author's reflections and interjections about the contents of the essays in the audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Suicide, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Mental illness
jourdanicus's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I find it hard to rate a book of essays - many of these essays made me feel so much. The ones to which I couldn't relate as much felt a little more like a drag to get through. Usually I love a book read by its author, but prose read by a poet can actually be hit and miss (for me personally I guess).
Some of the essays hit deep and others seemed, idk, a little unfinished? But still beautiful.
I loved the concept - it was almost like memoir plus social/political commentary through the lens of music criticism. All things I love, especially when early pop punk is involved. I can't wait to read Abdurraqib's poetry.
Some of the essays hit deep and others seemed, idk, a little unfinished? But still beautiful.
I loved the concept - it was almost like memoir plus social/political commentary through the lens of music criticism. All things I love, especially when early pop punk is involved. I can't wait to read Abdurraqib's poetry.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Police brutality, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
sydapel's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Truly some of the best writing about music and culture I've come across. I'd seen this recommended in various places across my feed, but it was Mel on TikTok that convinced me when they described it as writing that really captured what it's like to love or be a fan of music/sports/etc in our current social climate, how communities are shaped by the attitudes of their leaders and what it's like to be a minority in many of these spaces. Can't recommend it enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Drug abuse and Death
strawhat_kd's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I was blown away by Hanif's writing throughout the book. There was so many times I had no clue where Hanif was leading us to, but was blown away by the destination when we arrived. He speaks of varying topics and events that occurred in 2016, both personal and public, and how they have impacted him. It's hard to put into words what to expect in this book, because he does such a masterful job throughout each of these individual essays. I feel like I would cheapen the experience trying to put things into my own voice, when his works perfectly. I couldn't put the book down and now I'm looking forward to reading the rest of his works.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
froon's review against another edition
4.0
abdurraqid is a poet and it shows⏤in his careful repetition, his clever word play, his command over emotion. the breadth of this collection is impressive, and i found myself crying (a lot), laughing, learning, and reminiscing. my favorite sections were section iii (fall out boy essay ofc) and v (second to last section that moves towards a broader cultural/social commentary). my biggest complaint is some of the sections dragged a bit and some of the essays i wanted to be longer. overall, great and lovely collection that i regret not buying in 2019 when abdurraqid was teaching at my university.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
bookbrig's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I first discovered Hanif Abdurraqib via this video of him reading the piece Defiance, Ohio is the Name of a Band (on YouTube here: youtube.com/watch?v=2VJJJOdOfEE), and it was so good I wanted to read more of his stuff. Then I saw that he recorded the narration for the audio version of this book, so I gave it a try. It's SO good. Not just the writing or the narration, but both together and the asides added to the original text and also the forward and afterward by Ewing and Reynolds. There's so much going on in these essays, so even if you're like me and don't know all the musical artists that come up it's still going to draw you in and keep you listening. This is one I'm planning to buy in both audio and physical, for the different qualities each version bring to the work.
Some are joyful and some are heart-wrenching and all of them are reflective and interesting and it makes for an excellent collection. Might be a good crossover read for your teens into music too. Highly recommend!
Some are joyful and some are heart-wrenching and all of them are reflective and interesting and it makes for an excellent collection. Might be a good crossover read for your teens into music too. Highly recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide
madnabox's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This is a book that can be binged, but should be appreciated slowly. Hanif Abdurraqib's writing is so great and descriptive. It's really immersive. Then he casually drops such emotional lines and paragraph and it left me breathless. Even though I didn't know all of the music he was referencing, I enjoyed the connections he made to his life and experience. I saw another review that said this book is not really about the music but the experiences a person had from that music. That perfectly describes this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism