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A review by sashajwolf
My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Future by Alice Randall
challenging
dark
slow-paced
1.75
I liked this book a lot less than I expected. It does make some good points about racism in the music industry, and there are some nice turns of phrase and powerful descriptions.
However, I didn't get on with the overall tone. Randall comes across as quite mean and cutting, not just when she's discussing her experiences with white people - which would be understandable - but when talking about Black people she loves. It's hardly in line with the "nurture-centered capitalism" she espouses (but the less said about that, the better).
The passage where she sneers at her travelling companions for smelling of the sleeper train shampoo is a memorable example. In another passage, she abandons a chicken she is being paid to care for backstage, having taken the job for the connections she hopes to garner.
There is a lot of namedropping in the book, in one case extending over three pages of little else. There are also some uncomfortably explicit sex scenes that feel wildly out of place in a memoir that is attempting to chart the history of an under-represented genre.
Finally, the chronology is at times difficult to follow, and I spotted some mistakes that should have been caught by the publisher. At one point Ewan MacColl is referred to as Irish (he was born in Northwest England to Scottish parents, and it was an important part of his musical philosophy that the songs he sang should reflect that).
I would have dnf'd this book if I hadn't been reading it for one of the more difficult prompts on a book challenge. I don't think I'll be reading any more of Randall's work.
However, I didn't get on with the overall tone. Randall comes across as quite mean and cutting, not just when she's discussing her experiences with white people - which would be understandable - but when talking about Black people she loves. It's hardly in line with the "nurture-centered capitalism" she espouses (but the less said about that, the better).
The passage where she sneers at her travelling companions for smelling of the sleeper train shampoo is a memorable example. In another passage, she abandons a chicken she is being paid to care for backstage, having taken the job for the connections she hopes to garner.
There is a lot of namedropping in the book, in one case extending over three pages of little else. There are also some uncomfortably explicit sex scenes that feel wildly out of place in a memoir that is attempting to chart the history of an under-represented genre.
Finally, the chronology is at times difficult to follow, and I spotted some mistakes that should have been caught by the publisher. At one point Ewan MacColl is referred to as Irish (he was born in Northwest England to Scottish parents, and it was an important part of his musical philosophy that the songs he sang should reflect that).
I would have dnf'd this book if I hadn't been reading it for one of the more difficult prompts on a book challenge. I don't think I'll be reading any more of Randall's work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Dementia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal cruelty, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol