A review by musingsbymichelle
The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

reflective medium-paced

4.5

TNC's prose is so rich and beautiful. He has a way of describing his own life and expertly ties it to or uses it to inform larger world issues. I was trying to see the connection between all the essays because the second one on book-banning felt a little different from the other two which involved traveling to other countries. I think what I landed on is that all three showcase the power of journalism and that journalists' personal backgrounds and experiences impact their investigations including the places they go and the people they interview. In particular, how actually being on the grounds of a place and meeting the people that are living within that space have their truths to tell, one that doesn't always match what we learned growing up or see in popular media. This gave me a lot to think about especially the Palestine essay.