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A review by itsnikhat
The Awakening of Malcolm X by Tiffany D. Jackson, Ilyasah Shabazz
5.0
“If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, there’s no progress. If you pull it all the way out, that’s not progress. The progress is healing the wound that the blow made.“
If we were to do a word association test right now and you asked me to associate Malcolm X with a word, I would say, ‘enigmatic’ with zero hesitation. Ever since I came across few clips of his speeches during the last year, I made it my intention to learn in depth about him and what motivated him to grow into the strong, captivating personality that he did. As a non-American, my knowledge about Malcolm X was very basic; apart from his status as a Civil Rights Activist who reverted to Islam, I didn’t know much. The Awakening of Malcolm X is a perfect introduction to both readers like me as well as the ones who have grown up learning about this monumental figure as their history.
The book covers the formative years of Malcolm X alternating between memories of his childhood and teenage years, and his time in prison. What struck me most was how intelligent he was even from a young age. Malcolm grew in a family which stressed on self-love and education, their real heritage; the evenings in his home would be spent with Malcolm and his siblings learning from their mother as she imparted various lessons using real life examples. Despite the existing racism, Malcolm grew up in a happy home and this is extremely evident from the yearning which his narration and dreams inspire. When Malcolm’s father is killed and later on his mother is sent to an institution, a sense of waywardness enters Malcolm’s life. He spends most of his teenage years indulging in illicit activities and straying away from his upbringing. Reality hits Malcolm, when he is arrested for breaking & entering and larceny, and allocated 8-10 years of jail time.
“There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.”
During his prison years, we see a transformation take place in Malcolm. From a young man simply trying to complete his prison sentence and get back to the hustle life he knew, he goes back to his roots. Starting with just a dictionary, he begins to educate himself on various subjects. Through his eyes, we also see the cruelty that his fellow inmates are shown both in the face of judiciary that placed a sentence on their heads to the prison guards who treat them like animals. Malcolm begins to understand that being educated about the problems his people face is the only way to move forward. In this process, Malcolm is also exposed to Islam through his siblings and eventually reverts. As he begins to correspond with Elijah Muhammad, founder of Nation of Islam, his sense of faith and justice combined continue to grow, making him more firm in his beliefs.
I had high hopes from this book, especially because it was written by Malcolm’s daughter, and I’m so happy to say that TAOMX not only met those expectations but also went above and beyond. This book will leave you in an electric atmosphere! Malcolm’s ache to fix the system around him, snatch back the dignity that has been taken away from him and his people, catches you like fire. It is a book filled with life lessons and gives you an intricate insight into Malcolm’s life before he began to continue with his role as an activist publicly. If you enjoy reading historical fiction, memoirs, books which challenge the state our society is in and fill you with a zeal to transform the world, this book is for you! And if you don’t fall into any of the descriptions, I would still request you to read it. Malcolm X is the kind of person whose life’s story needs to be read about. If you don’t want to jump into his autobiography right away, this would be a perfect beginning.
Thank you, Colored Pages Tours for providing me with an e-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
If we were to do a word association test right now and you asked me to associate Malcolm X with a word, I would say, ‘enigmatic’ with zero hesitation. Ever since I came across few clips of his speeches during the last year, I made it my intention to learn in depth about him and what motivated him to grow into the strong, captivating personality that he did. As a non-American, my knowledge about Malcolm X was very basic; apart from his status as a Civil Rights Activist who reverted to Islam, I didn’t know much. The Awakening of Malcolm X is a perfect introduction to both readers like me as well as the ones who have grown up learning about this monumental figure as their history.
The book covers the formative years of Malcolm X alternating between memories of his childhood and teenage years, and his time in prison. What struck me most was how intelligent he was even from a young age. Malcolm grew in a family which stressed on self-love and education, their real heritage; the evenings in his home would be spent with Malcolm and his siblings learning from their mother as she imparted various lessons using real life examples. Despite the existing racism, Malcolm grew up in a happy home and this is extremely evident from the yearning which his narration and dreams inspire. When Malcolm’s father is killed and later on his mother is sent to an institution, a sense of waywardness enters Malcolm’s life. He spends most of his teenage years indulging in illicit activities and straying away from his upbringing. Reality hits Malcolm, when he is arrested for breaking & entering and larceny, and allocated 8-10 years of jail time.
“There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.”
During his prison years, we see a transformation take place in Malcolm. From a young man simply trying to complete his prison sentence and get back to the hustle life he knew, he goes back to his roots. Starting with just a dictionary, he begins to educate himself on various subjects. Through his eyes, we also see the cruelty that his fellow inmates are shown both in the face of judiciary that placed a sentence on their heads to the prison guards who treat them like animals. Malcolm begins to understand that being educated about the problems his people face is the only way to move forward. In this process, Malcolm is also exposed to Islam through his siblings and eventually reverts. As he begins to correspond with Elijah Muhammad, founder of Nation of Islam, his sense of faith and justice combined continue to grow, making him more firm in his beliefs.
I had high hopes from this book, especially because it was written by Malcolm’s daughter, and I’m so happy to say that TAOMX not only met those expectations but also went above and beyond. This book will leave you in an electric atmosphere! Malcolm’s ache to fix the system around him, snatch back the dignity that has been taken away from him and his people, catches you like fire. It is a book filled with life lessons and gives you an intricate insight into Malcolm’s life before he began to continue with his role as an activist publicly. If you enjoy reading historical fiction, memoirs, books which challenge the state our society is in and fill you with a zeal to transform the world, this book is for you! And if you don’t fall into any of the descriptions, I would still request you to read it. Malcolm X is the kind of person whose life’s story needs to be read about. If you don’t want to jump into his autobiography right away, this would be a perfect beginning.
Thank you, Colored Pages Tours for providing me with an e-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.