Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

32 reviews

nerd_inthe_wild's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0


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charviv's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0


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rosegoes3's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative tense slow-paced

3.0


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glawog's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative slow-paced

4.75


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carbs666's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

This book was SO good for real. Speaking as someone who doesn't tend to care too much abt nonfiction or memoir, I cannot recommend this book enough. Yes, the story is extraordinary, but more than that it is so wonderful to be immersed in Sinclair's poetic tone. It's so evocative and rich with imagery, easily transporting me to landscapes I've never seen in a country I've never visited. I wasn't able to put it down. 

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sadhbh2525's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0


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bookishevy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I breathed the biggest sigh of relief after reading the last sentence of this stunning memoir. 

Sinclair details her upbringing by an unstable musician father who adhered to a strict, read: misogynistic sect of Rastafari. He was obsessed with his daughters' purity and believed they would be corrupted by the Western world, referred to as Babylon. He forbade them from wearing pants, jewelry, or makeup, and they weren't allowed to have friends or opinions. 

I was going to rant about his hypocrisy and how he was everything he hated: an oppressor. Because he was especially harsh toward the author, as she was expected to be an example of the proper Rastawoman for her younger sisters, while their brother had more freedom. When she pushed back, her father became unhinged. 

Out of respect for Sinclair, I will bite my tongue and instead focus on her mother, with whom I am enamored. There were times when this man wasn't booking gigs, and he refused to work for Babylon, saying, "Jah will provide." Meanwhile, it was their mother who foraged for food so they could eat. She never complained, but she wanted better for her children than this life of instability, so she gave them the gift of books. 

But an education can only get you so far. Sinclair’s schooling had stalled. She was trapped by her parents' financial constraints, which is sadly true for a lot of bright, underprivileged individuals. Her journey was especially harrowing because she'd been under her father's many roofs far longer than her siblings. Sometimes, it takes more than intelligence to be successful. It takes opportunity, and her mother was always the one behind the scenes doing God's work and finding ways to get her eldest from under her father's eye. 

Sinclair’s story is also an example of how the arts help us cope with hardships. Through poetry, she was able to process her trauma. And what a poet. The words practically leap off the pages. Words of sadness. Words of hope that one day, her father would take accountability and accept her as she is.

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qqjj's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.0


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amberinpieces's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0


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00phantom's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

5.0


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