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A review by taratearex
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
First read 2019, physical book:
An incredible book, a must read.
Reread 2023, audiobook:
This is a beautiful and heart wrenching memoir. This remains a necessary read about racism and it's effects on Black people, particularly in how it effects the body and mental health. Rereading this book makes me want to reread Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness by Da’Shaun Harrison.
The first time I read this book I could not put it down, this time I took my time with the audiobook. The prose is stunning and the vulnerability draws you in, I found both ways of reading it to be deeply engaging, but it is always an experience to hear an author read their own memoir. Kiese Laymon's writing is so poetic that hearing him read it added a sort of slam poetry performance to many parts of it, making it even more emotional and visceral of an experience.
I read his debut novel last year, which I hadn't read when I first read this memoir so that also brought a different experience to hearing him talk about it here, but also just really emphasized what I love about his writing- the poetic rhythm and play on words and just love for language. So going back to his memoir to how he developed as a writer was an interesting perspective.
There are too many lines that I could quote, but given this was a reread and I've gotten very into rereading recently, this really stuck out to me:
"I learned you haven't really read anything unless you've only read anything once or twice. Reading things more than twice was the reader version of revision"
I reread this on almost the exact dates as I first did in 2019
TW: Eating disorder, Child abuse, Racism, Fatphobia, Addiction, Sexual violence
An incredible book, a must read.
Reread 2023, audiobook:
This is a beautiful and heart wrenching memoir. This remains a necessary read about racism and it's effects on Black people, particularly in how it effects the body and mental health. Rereading this book makes me want to reread Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness by Da’Shaun Harrison.
The first time I read this book I could not put it down, this time I took my time with the audiobook. The prose is stunning and the vulnerability draws you in, I found both ways of reading it to be deeply engaging, but it is always an experience to hear an author read their own memoir. Kiese Laymon's writing is so poetic that hearing him read it added a sort of slam poetry performance to many parts of it, making it even more emotional and visceral of an experience.
I read his debut novel last year, which I hadn't read when I first read this memoir so that also brought a different experience to hearing him talk about it here, but also just really emphasized what I love about his writing- the poetic rhythm and play on words and just love for language. So going back to his memoir to how he developed as a writer was an interesting perspective.
There are too many lines that I could quote, but given this was a reread and I've gotten very into rereading recently, this really stuck out to me:
"I learned you haven't really read anything unless you've only read anything once or twice. Reading things more than twice was the reader version of revision"
I reread this on almost the exact dates as I first did in 2019
TW: Eating disorder, Child abuse, Racism, Fatphobia, Addiction, Sexual violence
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Addiction, Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Racism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Alcohol