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A review by annmariereads
They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib
4.0
Goodness gracious, I love an essay collection. This one is even more special the way it has music as the base and uses it to relate to well, everything.
The chapter about Fall Out Boy brought back such visceral memories for me that I stopped reading and went straight to my iTunes library to listen to some of my old favorites. I love how Abdurraqib talks about the history of the band and even how they used to get booed. It was fascinating.
One of the best things about this book is the way our author brings every single essay full circle. No matter what all he discusses during an essay it all connects by the end and is almost always incredibly insightful. The Marvin Gaye chapter gave me actual goosebumps.
Abdurraquib's voice is powerful. There's so many awful things in this world that don't make sense - violence against Black people, discrimination of Muslims, horrific gun violence. He does not back down from these heavy topics, but meets them head on. At the times when he's his most raw and truthful, I'm reminded of other amazing writers like Kiese Laymon and Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Pick this book up, especially the newest version with previously unreleased essays.
The chapter about Fall Out Boy brought back such visceral memories for me that I stopped reading and went straight to my iTunes library to listen to some of my old favorites. I love how Abdurraqib talks about the history of the band and even how they used to get booed. It was fascinating.
One of the best things about this book is the way our author brings every single essay full circle. No matter what all he discusses during an essay it all connects by the end and is almost always incredibly insightful. The Marvin Gaye chapter gave me actual goosebumps.
Abdurraquib's voice is powerful. There's so many awful things in this world that don't make sense - violence against Black people, discrimination of Muslims, horrific gun violence. He does not back down from these heavy topics, but meets them head on. At the times when he's his most raw and truthful, I'm reminded of other amazing writers like Kiese Laymon and Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Pick this book up, especially the newest version with previously unreleased essays.