Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

44 reviews

carlin_e's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.25

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racqthebelle's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Woof, this book was a lot, in the best possible way. I don't usually read a lot of nonfiction, but a really good memoir is an exception, and this is a really, really good memoir. Sinclair's story is about being raised in a strict, patriarchal household, and although the specifics of having a Rastafari father and upbringing may not resonate with everyone (and certainly one hopes the violence and abuse Sinclair, her siblings, her mother experienced is not everyone's experience), the themes are universal. Societies putting different expectations and restrictions on girls and boys, sexualizing girls at a young age, policing their bodies and beings, and blaming them for any sexual violence men inflict upon them. Patriarchs of a family expecting their wives and daughters to be both wives and daughters: having no needs at all, never criticizing or demanding respect from the "man of the household," and their lives revolving around satisfying the man. Chafing at the strictures of the life and world you are raised in and trying to escape with any means possible. A family attempting to heal horrible, devastating ruptures in their very fabric and laying the groundwork for healthier families in the future. Sinclair captures all of this absolutely breathtakingly, with immense compassion for her younger self (and with more compassion than I could ever muster in her situation for her father) and a voice that is so grounded and evocative. Despite this book being heavy at times, I was glued to it and couldn't stop reading. There is something hopeful about this story: Sinclair and her family do eventually break free of their traumatic upbringing, and they strive to do better for future generations. This is a beautiful, unflinching, triumphant story, and I highly recommend it to everyone. 
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crybabybea's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad

4.5

Beautifully written, if a bit long-winded at times. I was really taken aback by how similar stories of abuse are, even though the circumstances vary from person to person. I connected it with my own life a lot, and I saw the resemblance to similar memoirs such as Educated. 

I also appreciated that Safiya Sinclair included information about Rastafari and Jamaican history, so we would have proper context as we read.

Safiya is clearly an incredible writer, and she does a wonderful job weaving together the complex emotions that come from experiencing abuse. On top of that, the complexity is deepened even further by the generational trauma of colonization and poverty. I found it to be a very well-rounded memoir with a great balance of personal experience and historical research.
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waybeyondblue's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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quay's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

This was probably one of the most important works I’ve read in the last decade. I felt so moved by how eloquently she weaved her words. The author is extremely gifted and I felt connected to her journey of abuse, and finding freedom through poetry. I started writing for similar reasons around the same age. I’m so happy to see that there is still art out there like this. So moving and deep, but culturally significant to those who may feel othered in this big wide world. I’m so impressed and I definitely cried at some parts. Family is complicated.
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christy_lauren's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense fast-paced

5.0

My dear friend sophie made me own perfectly curated tbr list and it is the greatest gift. To be thought of when sophie is reading floors me regularly, to know they read such complex and emotionally challenging books and think ‘Christy would like this’ means that I get to exist in so many multitudes. Non fiction has never been something I have flocked too, fiction work has flooded my teens and early twenties but I made a promise I would venture into non fiction if only it meant I could share a little more love for books with sophie.

This book shattered me plain and simple, each word I read on the page felt like striking a match, every chapter devoured the flame burning with more fervour until I felt engulfed entirely. I felt like Safiya had bared her heart and soul on the pages, with such vulnerable retelling of her memories that It was like treading on her nostalgia with each page turned, the rawness of every time portion she described was so perfect I could not read this book fast enough.

To Safiya Sinclair this book is a marvel, a testament to your life and a reminder that woman are so much more than the rage they are born from. Thankyou.

And to my sophie, for thinking of me whenever you read, I ache to be closer to you in all the smallest of ways but getting to love the same books as you feels like an honour you will never full grasp.
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sophiemattholie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

5.0

this book made me want to write a memoir and forgive my mother and walk into the sea
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masego's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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flowchelle's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

4.0

Wow, this book was a lot more than I realized it would be! I fully understand the importance of the grandparents story and it gave the parents much more depth but it was so much to process with how soul crushing each generations story was. However, that obviously made Safiya’s triumphs even more impressive and mold breaking. This was such a multifaceted and beautifully told story that got my emotions entirely entwined! I was shocked by her
ability to forgive her father in the end
and
brought to tears by the description of the generations of women healed on the beach
! 
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