A review by mrtvavrana
One Day I Will Write About This Place: A Memoir by Binyavanga Wainaina

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

 This was my second memoir in a month. I am not going to lie—it was quite a challenge for me to read through it.

The first half—the author's childhood—was particularly difficult to get through. There is a lot going on, and the way it is written made my head spin. This part was the most experimental, and I suppose it mirrored quite well what childhood is like: wild, confusing, loud, and bright.

As the author “grows up,” the writing style changes. It turns into a more traditional memoir, although there are still moments when the style briefly changes back to more chaotic.

The second half of the book is much more dynamic, and I think that the pace picking up is what finally sucked me in.

Despite this book being about the life and experiences of a Black man from Africa, I definitely found myself in some of the passages. I am always happy to see that many of our experiences are universal, no matter who we are and where we are from. It makes me feel less alone.

I have to admit that I had to look up many of the people and events mentioned in the book. I am definitely not well-versed in African politics and history, so every learning opportunity is a welcome one. I think this memoir has helped me learn a lot. Not just about the author and politics and history, but also about myself.

While this book was not entirely my cup of tea (I do not often read non-fiction, and I definitely do not read memoirs), I loved the poetry and the metaphors; I loved the descriptiveness and the depth to which Wainaina went.

I hope that in the future I will have more opportunities to read non-fiction by queer African authors and more of Wainaina's works.