Pryor Convictions and Other Life Sentences / Richard Pryor / 1995

Pryor Convictions and Other Life Sentences / Richard Pryor / 1995

I'm utterly confused by the doting and glowing reviews of this book online. Richard Pryor, while a comedic genius, perpetrated so much violence against women and did so little to repair his relationship to gender that I hardly feel bad for him as he describes the horrors of MS and lighting himself on fire. I literally listened thinking, ah God is trying to humble this man and make him slow tf down and elicit an ounce of empathy from his soul for the women he uses and sees as less than human, and even with all the chances he's been given he's still making jokes about pedophilia, domestic violence, and his abuses.  Pryor begins with a Richard Wright-esque description of his early life in whore house, including moments of abandonment and being sexually assaulted by a local man who later reappeared in his life when he was famous and had Richard sign an autograph for his kid.  In an ars poetica like moment, Pryor describes how once he slipped in shit and made people laugh and that he's been doing that his whole life.  Reading this book gave me insight into its historical moment, especially in terms of how some folks may have engaged with the Black Radical Tradition, as well as the way the industry will elevate a so-called genius and pimp him for his ability to make them money, at the expense of his victims and himself.  Pryor never seemed to learn the lesson, thinking the cliche and flat wisdom about humankind all being one (especially in terms of our need for pussy) and needing to bask in sunshine every once in a while is somehow profound. I'm appalled at how a man can live so much and learn so dramatically little. While the book has its moments of humor, it was hard to enjoy them when he had just finished describing firing gunshots at an intimate partner. He narrates his acts of abuse with an unabashed shame, repeatedly claiming there was nothing he could do to improve his behavior, face his drug addiction, and so forth.  Utterly tragic and sickening.  1.5/5 

Gasa Gasa Girl Goes to Camp / Lily Havey / 2014

Gasa Gasa Girl Goes to Camp / Lily Havey / 2014

In this memoir about growing up in the Japanese internment camp, Lily recreates her childhood perspective to tell a mouth-drying story what it was like to be a young Japanese girl shouldering the gender, racial and class baggage of American and Japanese culture. Lily displays remarkable wisdom and understanding intrinsic to her being, even in her youth, as she mothers her parents, who regularly break under the trauma of their upbringings and adulthoods, leaning on their daughter for comfort. Havey's honesty about the layers of racism, her apt comparisons of the interment camps to Native reservations, all make for a gripping read. All of which is delivered through the mouthpiece of a tween with her passions and frenzy. Interlaced between paragraphs are paintings by Havey, as she's a visual artist by profession. It stuns and baffles me that this book didn't have more national acclaim when it was published. It's truly on par with Solito. 5/5

Solito / Javier Zamora / 2022

Solito / Javier Zamora / 2022

Solito is a memoir recounting Javier's journey to the US, without his family, as a 9-year-old. I'll write a longer review about this book later, but my biggest notes are as follows: 1) the choice to recreate the voice of his 9-year-old self and the day-by-day timeline of his trek is extremely ambitious. The line between memory and imagination must blur somewhere along the way. It's painstaking, masterful, and deeply rewarding. I'm curious what historians will make of this book and how they will use it. 2) this is a work of environmental literature and I hope folks in environmental humanities champion this book. Young Javi's mind describes flora and fauna in exquisite detail. 3) I cried on the train listening to this book at least 4 times. 4) it took me months to read, honestly bc the 9 yr old voice and repetitiveness of certain parts of the journey became a bit boring at times, as it should when you're describing waiting in a hotel room for weeks in end until you wait for the next leg of the journey. Historically, that's important to mark. 5) there's discrepancies between Unaccompanied and Solito. Specifically, Chino dies in Unaccompanied and his whereabouts are left unknown in Solito. The first and second attempt crossing are flipped in Unaccompanied. This isn't a criticism. Memory is fickle, especially early childhood trauma. I'm really curious what Javi would say about this though. 6) this is an extremely poignant ode to Patricia and Chino, the adults who cared for him along his journey. It is a gigantic testament to the lengths humans will go to love and protect one another in the face of the worst the world has to offer (the soulless US immigration system). 7) this is the pettiest, most hilarious moment in the book for me: in his second attempt crossing, a journey that likely left dozens of migrants and a coyote dead in the desert, when his unit is separated from the group when Javi is delirious and potentially going to die of thirst, he says something to the effect, I am so thirsty I would even drink Mexican horchata. I bust out laughing on the train. That's how much Salvis hate Mexican horchata. We'll use one of the most heartrending moments of our magnum opus memoir to throw shade, and it'll be completely honest. Hats off, Javi. Peace be with you. 5/5

When Chickenheads Come to Roost / Joan Morgan / 1999

When Chickenheads Come to Roost / Joan Morgan / 1999

The book that made hip-hop feminism a thing that came out in 1999. Hip-hop has changed a lot and some of this book is outdated. There’s some really troubling views about abortion rights and Morgan’s homegirls give her terrible advice about relationships. That said, it was a fascinating dip into the cultural milieu at the time and the conversations some Black women were having about the cultural. The focus on romance surprised me some, but offered meaningful insights. Much more memoir than music critic, but I can see why this book mattered so much. Lots of intergenerational and gendered trauma unpacked here. 2.5/5

M to (WT)F / Samantha Allen / 2020

M to (WT)F / Samantha Allen / 2020

This book is sold as a comedic take on the unexpected aspects of transitioning to a trans women. Allen goes through the trouble of even arguing that trans folks are not overly tender and can take jokes and do laugh at hilarious jokes written about their experiences that don't punch down. She then follows with an extremely tender queer, sweet, and at best playful telling of her rather cookie cutter transition narrative as a well off middle class white woman. While it was well written, the only new thing this book made me consider is that people without with vulvas pee with a lot less ability to direct urine than people with penises. I only laughed once or twice and was largely disappointed by this book, especially Allen's tangent defending Chad's from jokes about the Chad stereotype. Not very funny. So very white. 2/5