skipper1513's review against another edition
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
- well written and captivating
- eye-opening stories of black history and how it has taken shape today
- strong themes of identity
- eye-opening stories of black history and how it has taken shape today
- strong themes of identity
nikkihrose's review against another edition
4.0
I am White.
I find it important to acknowledge this before I give any feedback, review, or opinions on Coates’ work, as this book — this letter to his son is about his life. His experiences. His experiences as a Black man in America. It is nothing that I can relate to. It is nothing that I can even imagine or empathize with. But it is everything that I can and have learned from.
First of all, I also find it important to note that four years ago I had the opportunity to hear Ta-Nehisi Coates speak in person. Everyone had told me that he was as talented as a speaker as he was a writer, and I was lucky to hear him speak in person. I felt that way, too, until I was actually there.
That particular talk must have been an off day. I attended NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) in 2016 and listened to Coates half-respond half-dodge the questions of the host. I don’t remember the questions. I don’t know if they were offensive, off topic, or anything of the sort. I don’t even remember the focus of the speech, to be honest with you. But I remember Coates’ responses being that of “yes,” “no,” and “I’m not sure.” The hour-or-so long talk was cut short, as the host couldn’t seem to get any more out of Coates to make the discussion worthwhile. Audience members were disappointed.
It was before this talk that I had picked up my first copy of Coates’ Between the World and Me, but after this talk I couldn’t bring myself to read it. I was disappointed by the discussion I had looked forward to, and I was put off by this “amazing speaker” who could also write mesmerizing tales of what it was like to be Black — or so others told me. So it sat on my shelf, unread, unopened, uncreased.
A few years later I found myself teaching AP Language and Composition to a bunch of high school students, and Coates’ Between the World and Me was one of the summer reading choices. I picked up my second copy of the book (forgetting I already owned one) and set my mind to reading the book within the year. It wasn’t until the following summer that I picked it back up. Not until the outpouring of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the need for Police Reform, and the outpouring of Black voices about antiracism, needing and deserving to be heard.
And so I started to read. I’m cycling my way through four or five different antiracist texts at the moment, trying to wrap my head around a world I have remained far too sheltered and privileged from my entire life.
Ta-Nehisi Coates writes Between the World and Me as a letter to his teenage son. He focuses on the “black body” and how his entire life has been spent trying to protect and maintain his black body from the oppression throughout the country. He has lived his life predominantly in fear, never considering the risk-taking life that his wife did (such as traveling and exploring the world). He worries about passing this fear onto his son, but acknowledges the importance of making his son aware of the fears that exist, as well.
Coates explores the concept of White privilege and the difference of what the American Dream means to White people compared to Black people, and he does all of this through his recognition and understanding of the world around him. Through all of this, Coates tries to distinguish the void between the world and himself (hence the title) and works to explain where he has felt separated from the world to both himself and to his son.
I’ll be honest: this is my first time reading Coates’ memoir. Upon a first reading, I’d likely only give it 3 out of 5 stars, due to the fact that there were moments I felt lost in his style of writing, in his capture of the world around him, and in his experiences, of which I will always struggle to understand on a personal level.
This being said, I’m settling on a 4 out of 5 star rating, simply because I know that there is far more to get out of this book than I did upon a first reading. This book needs a second reading, a third reading, a fourth reading, and many more beyond that. There is so much to unpack, to understand, to relate to, and to contemplate about that there is no way I could restrict this book to my first-time reading interpretation.
Coates is a gifted writer, beautifully composing words to fit his interpretation and experience of the world. Since my 2016 experience at NCTE, I’ve listened to some of his talks online, and I can easily say that my experience observing him was a fluke. This is a man to raise up. This is a man to listen to. This is a man to learn from. And this memoir is a step in the right direction.
I find it important to acknowledge this before I give any feedback, review, or opinions on Coates’ work, as this book — this letter to his son is about his life. His experiences. His experiences as a Black man in America. It is nothing that I can relate to. It is nothing that I can even imagine or empathize with. But it is everything that I can and have learned from.
First of all, I also find it important to note that four years ago I had the opportunity to hear Ta-Nehisi Coates speak in person. Everyone had told me that he was as talented as a speaker as he was a writer, and I was lucky to hear him speak in person. I felt that way, too, until I was actually there.
That particular talk must have been an off day. I attended NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) in 2016 and listened to Coates half-respond half-dodge the questions of the host. I don’t remember the questions. I don’t know if they were offensive, off topic, or anything of the sort. I don’t even remember the focus of the speech, to be honest with you. But I remember Coates’ responses being that of “yes,” “no,” and “I’m not sure.” The hour-or-so long talk was cut short, as the host couldn’t seem to get any more out of Coates to make the discussion worthwhile. Audience members were disappointed.
It was before this talk that I had picked up my first copy of Coates’ Between the World and Me, but after this talk I couldn’t bring myself to read it. I was disappointed by the discussion I had looked forward to, and I was put off by this “amazing speaker” who could also write mesmerizing tales of what it was like to be Black — or so others told me. So it sat on my shelf, unread, unopened, uncreased.
A few years later I found myself teaching AP Language and Composition to a bunch of high school students, and Coates’ Between the World and Me was one of the summer reading choices. I picked up my second copy of the book (forgetting I already owned one) and set my mind to reading the book within the year. It wasn’t until the following summer that I picked it back up. Not until the outpouring of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the need for Police Reform, and the outpouring of Black voices about antiracism, needing and deserving to be heard.
And so I started to read. I’m cycling my way through four or five different antiracist texts at the moment, trying to wrap my head around a world I have remained far too sheltered and privileged from my entire life.
Ta-Nehisi Coates writes Between the World and Me as a letter to his teenage son. He focuses on the “black body” and how his entire life has been spent trying to protect and maintain his black body from the oppression throughout the country. He has lived his life predominantly in fear, never considering the risk-taking life that his wife did (such as traveling and exploring the world). He worries about passing this fear onto his son, but acknowledges the importance of making his son aware of the fears that exist, as well.
Coates explores the concept of White privilege and the difference of what the American Dream means to White people compared to Black people, and he does all of this through his recognition and understanding of the world around him. Through all of this, Coates tries to distinguish the void between the world and himself (hence the title) and works to explain where he has felt separated from the world to both himself and to his son.
I’ll be honest: this is my first time reading Coates’ memoir. Upon a first reading, I’d likely only give it 3 out of 5 stars, due to the fact that there were moments I felt lost in his style of writing, in his capture of the world around him, and in his experiences, of which I will always struggle to understand on a personal level.
This being said, I’m settling on a 4 out of 5 star rating, simply because I know that there is far more to get out of this book than I did upon a first reading. This book needs a second reading, a third reading, a fourth reading, and many more beyond that. There is so much to unpack, to understand, to relate to, and to contemplate about that there is no way I could restrict this book to my first-time reading interpretation.
Coates is a gifted writer, beautifully composing words to fit his interpretation and experience of the world. Since my 2016 experience at NCTE, I’ve listened to some of his talks online, and I can easily say that my experience observing him was a fluke. This is a man to raise up. This is a man to listen to. This is a man to learn from. And this memoir is a step in the right direction.
intensej's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the audiobook! It is narrated by the author, and I could feel his energy as I listened to the book.
A beautiful, loving, and moving essay from Ta-Nehisi Coates to his son. Coates explores what it means to be black in America and to not have control of your body. Coates writes a call-to-action with urgency and passion. A must read.
A beautiful, loving, and moving essay from Ta-Nehisi Coates to his son. Coates explores what it means to be black in America and to not have control of your body. Coates writes a call-to-action with urgency and passion. A must read.
lindseygwilson's review against another edition
4.0
Very important content. This is one I'll probably have to read again slowly and carefully, and I would likely benefit from a study guide. I found some of it difficult to understand/follow. That's the only reason for the 4 stars.