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rh_222006's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
rthresher28's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
show_no_mercy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
While I enjoyed most of the essays in the book the problem with the format is that they are all short and I found that I struggled to be really immersed in them because they were over too quickly.
mastersal's review
4.0
A collection of short stories written by immigrants and children of immigrants in the UK - this was something that I was very interested in reading. The collection of essays is diverse coming from a variety of backgrounds. The quality of the essays vary as well as the authors are not all writers - some are actors, activists, authors and poets.
This made for an interesting read - like with collections of essays - some landed and some missed.
Individual ratings follow:
NAMASTE - 4 star - good fun to start the collection.
A GUIDE TO BEING BLACK - 4.5 stars. Excellently written - see example “While being black can be a shared experience, not all black experiences are the same.”
MY NAME IS MY NAME - 5 stars - very poetic. This left a lump in my throat
YELLOW - 3.5 stars. Not as moving or well written but still I learned quite a bit.
KENDO NAGASAKI AND ME - 3 stars. A more specific personal essay about the bullying and racial slurs the authors felt. I liked it and it highlighted the need for diverse representation but I didn't know the names of the characters or actors so I was a little lost.
WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY - 3 stars
Seemed more positive about the immigrant experience and living in a small community, even if it was not multicultural. A nice hopeful little essay. Nothing particularly new for me and not greatly written. Fans of the actor will probably enjoy it more.
IS NISH KUMAR A CONFUSED MUSLIM? 2 stars - it was ok but I didn’t see much insight or point here. The essay stretched the point being made
FORMING BLACKNESS THROUGH A SCREEN - 4 stars
Essay ended a little abruptly but was really good. Exploring identity through the American pop culture monolith since you have little which is home grown and specific to you - yeah that hit close. Just wish the essay has been a little longer tbh.
BEYOND GOOD IMMIGRANTS - 3.5 stars
“But the horrified furore around Chua’s parenting memoir show that beneath the Western awe at Chinese educational attainment is a profoundly uncomfortable fear of a seemingly alien culture.”
I think I like these serious essays more which quote more than personal facts and put the experience into a larger narrative and context. The essay was good but I didn’t follow all the actors names so it got a bit specific
YOU CAN'T SAY THAT! STORIES HAVE TO BE ABOUT WHITE PEOPLE - 5 stars
“Speaking to Nabila, she told me she had never written about an Indian heritage … character before. … nobody has ever explicitly given her permission…”
This made for an interesting read - like with collections of essays - some landed and some missed.
Individual ratings follow:
NAMASTE - 4 star - good fun to start the collection.
A GUIDE TO BEING BLACK - 4.5 stars. Excellently written - see example “While being black can be a shared experience, not all black experiences are the same.”
MY NAME IS MY NAME - 5 stars - very poetic. This left a lump in my throat
YELLOW - 3.5 stars. Not as moving or well written but still I learned quite a bit.
KENDO NAGASAKI AND ME - 3 stars. A more specific personal essay about the bullying and racial slurs the authors felt. I liked it and it highlighted the need for diverse representation but I didn't know the names of the characters or actors so I was a little lost.
WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY - 3 stars
Seemed more positive about the immigrant experience and living in a small community, even if it was not multicultural. A nice hopeful little essay. Nothing particularly new for me and not greatly written. Fans of the actor will probably enjoy it more.
IS NISH KUMAR A CONFUSED MUSLIM? 2 stars - it was ok but I didn’t see much insight or point here. The essay stretched the point being made
FORMING BLACKNESS THROUGH A SCREEN - 4 stars
Essay ended a little abruptly but was really good. Exploring identity through the American pop culture monolith since you have little which is home grown and specific to you - yeah that hit close. Just wish the essay has been a little longer tbh.
BEYOND GOOD IMMIGRANTS - 3.5 stars
“But the horrified furore around Chua’s parenting memoir show that beneath the Western awe at Chinese educational attainment is a profoundly uncomfortable fear of a seemingly alien culture.”
I think I like these serious essays more which quote more than personal facts and put the experience into a larger narrative and context. The essay was good but I didn’t follow all the actors names so it got a bit specific
YOU CAN'T SAY THAT! STORIES HAVE TO BE ABOUT WHITE PEOPLE - 5 stars
“Speaking to Nabila, she told me she had never written about an Indian heritage … character before. … nobody has ever explicitly given her permission…”
jwilsonleary's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.75
This book is a great place to start when learning about different people, cultures and how we are all essentially human with different stories.