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A review by storytimed
How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America by Kiese Laymon
3.75
But fortunately Kiese is less annoying than Neil Gaiman, I think especially because he lets other voices share the spotlight. We get emails written between him and his mother, a letter chain from other Black male writers (including one trans Black guy and one gay Black guy), and the whole anthology ends with a sermon from his aunt
Who, I have to say, is kind of... a better writer than Kiese............ lmfao
Like Kiese isn't bad, but I'm not vibing with a lot of his tics? There's a lot of repetition when he's making grand pronouncements about Race In American Society, but without the clarity of voice and rhythm of the preachers he's influenced by. He tends to be dour and that doesn't really work with polemics
I think he's at his best when he's doing incisive and slightly mean captures of people he knows in real life. There's an interview he does with a guy who plays basketball overseas that he published for ESPN
And that's really interesting because he actually connects with the player, who is a personal friend from youth, and is very honest about his own judgmental attitude towards the whole situation
Similarly, the essay he writes about his publishing industry nightmare and a hated former agent is very gossipy and enjoyable