ktxx22's review against another edition
3.0
I know who this book is for, and I acknowledge that the right audience isn’t me. I did not really get a lot out of this memoir, but that’s alright not every book has to be profound and I know exactly who I would recommend this book to in the future. I didn’t enjoy the discussions on disordered eating and hyper fixation on weight and working out felt very claustrophobic while reading those parts. While I appreciated the transparency of the book in regards to sexual and physical abuse I personally did not enjoy the reading experience. It’s well done writing wise and in structure.
bonnieohthecat's review against another edition
5.0
I read this in two days, staying up way too late to do so. Laymon's unblinking reflection on how growing up a Black man in Mississippi (in particular, but also: America) has shaped him, his family and home life, and his relationship to his body is easily the most courageous exploration of self and society I've read this year--maybe ever--and I wish it was required reading for white Americans, like myself. There's a lot for white folks to sit with here though Laymon is not writing to and for white folks. I'm still thinking about his imagined audience (something that comes up in the book) and it leaves me wanting to revisit King and hooks on the beloved community. I'm still thinking about vulnerability, it's relationship to truthfulness and well-being at the individual and community level, and how poorly it seems to fit with surviving, itself a pressing and uncertain outcome when you're Black in America. Which is to say, I'll be thinking about this a lot and rereading and damn I wish I book clubbed this (next time!).
kstookley's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a while to get into this book, because more than anything else I've read recently, this book is not for me. Kiese Laymon dreamed up this book on his grandmother's porch, a letter to his mother about his relationship to his blackness, his weight, sex, and gambling. It even uses the second-person, reminding the reader that they are not "you." He begins the book saying he wish he could tell a lie about Black identity, something requiring an easy fix rather than a thorny problem that he and the nation have little time to deal with. But instead, he is as honest as he can be, repeating certain lines like a poet would (this, too, made it difficult for me to latch onto the book). Still, even though this book was not for me, I connected with the abusive relationship he has with food and his body-- more than any other book I have read, and I am not sure if that says more about the book or me. But once I saw some truth I could translate there, I connected with the rest of the book much better.
White people: this book isn't for us, so don't go to it looking for a metaphorical lesson on racism from which you can draw some low-effort solutions to dismantling the systemic thoughts in your mind. Read it like you would read any other memoir, and look for the literary excellence above all else.
White people: this book isn't for us, so don't go to it looking for a metaphorical lesson on racism from which you can draw some low-effort solutions to dismantling the systemic thoughts in your mind. Read it like you would read any other memoir, and look for the literary excellence above all else.
krubin's review against another edition
3.0
I felt as a non-American and a Caucasian/Middle Eastern I'm not the right audience for this book.
It was very difficult for me to get into it, but after a few chapters I enjoyed it.
Wouldn't say it had a big impact on me, but I got some perspective.
It was very difficult for me to get into it, but after a few chapters I enjoyed it.
Wouldn't say it had a big impact on me, but I got some perspective.
nytekit's review against another edition
2.0
I've rarely felt as apathetic after finishing a book as I did with Heavy. To me, this is a very clear case of everything not being written for everybody because this definitely was not written with me as the intended audience in mind. Not only did I not connect with Laymon or those around him in the novel, I also didn't like his writing style. The time jumps and decisions to focus on one thing over another left me more confused than anything, and left a lot of potentially interesting topics un-investigated. It's not a bad book, per se, but it was definitely not for me.
lauresno's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
mollystrand's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
anahhs's review against another edition
3.0
i expected more from the very positive reviews i read beforehand but still, i am glad i read it. i find it it is important to read and be knowlegdeable of life experiences different from our own.