Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

How to Say Babylon: A Jamaican Memoir by Safiya Sinclair

85 reviews

bookishevy's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

chrisiant's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring fast-paced

5.0

Beautiful beautiful words about some terrible experiences. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

el_be_readin's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Misogyny and Fire/Fire injury

qqjj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

amberinpieces's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Drug use, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

00phantom's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Vomit

hanawulu's review against another edition

reflective tense medium-paced

3.75

This memoir is set in Jamaica, the story of an eldest daughter growing up in strict Rasta family. One appreciation I had for this book is writing around place and setting. Not surprised see the author is a poet, the details were lush. It was easy to imagine the places and rooms the narrator moved through. I also liked the nuance the author brought to her discussion of Rastafari, the way she traces how it changed her parents over time as well as how it changed the family, but on the other side, how the world changing and events in Jamaica's history changed the movement also. 

  It was hard for me to accept the ending, though, as a reader. It felt too sudden after establishing the father's behavior for so many chapters and hundreds of pages before. I wish there had been more discussion of the narrator's work towards healing or addressing the abuse and trauma of their family upbringing. The book seems to speed towards resolution and suddenly the narrator just figured out the father figure and was willing to be around him a bit again?  I couldn't fully understand why and how based on the text itself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault

_aurora_'s review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

darbi_ms's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

sabrinaleaf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

4.5

4.5 ⭐️ 
Amazing, Safiya Sinclair has such a way with words: she pulls you into her story and doesn’t let you go. 

The only reason why this isn’t a five star read for me is because I almost dnf it after I read the prologue. To me, the prologue felt more like it was written for a fantasy standalone; it felt disjointed with the rest of her memoir.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Miscarriage