Book Review: How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

 

About:

With echoes of Educated and Born a Crime, How to Say Babylon is the stunning story of the author’s struggle to break free of her rigid Rastafarian upbringing, ruled by her father’s strict patriarchal views and repressive control of her childhood, to find her own voice as a woman and poet.

Throughout her childhood, Safiya Sinclair’s father, a volatile reggae musician and militant adherent to a strict sect of Rastafari, became obsessed with her purity, in particular, with the threat of what Rastas call Babylon, the immoral and corrupting influences of the Western world outside their home. He worried that womanhood would make Safiya and her sisters morally weak and impure, and believed a woman’s highest virtue was her obedience.

In an effort to keep Babylon outside the gate, he forbade almost everything. In place of pants, the women in her family were made to wear long skirts and dresses to cover their arms and legs, head wraps to cover their hair, no make-up, no jewelry, no opinions, no friends. Safiya’s mother, while loyal to her father, nonetheless gave Safiya and her siblings the gift of books, including poetry, to which Safiya latched on for dear life. And as Safiya watched her mother struggle voicelessly for years under housework and the rigidity of her father’s beliefs, she increasingly used her education as a sharp tool with which to find her voice and break free. Inevitably, with her rebellion comes clashes with her father, whose rage and paranoia explodes in increasing violence. As Safiya’s voice grows, lyrically and poetically, a collision course is set between them.

How to Say Babylon is Sinclair’s reckoning with the culture that initially nourished but ultimately sought to silence her; it is her reckoning with patriarchy and tradition, and the legacy of colonialism in Jamaica. Rich in lyricism and language only a poet could evoke, How to Say Babylon is both a universal story of a woman finding her own power and a unique glimpse into a rarefied world we may know how to name, Rastafari, but one we know little about.'

My Thoughts

This memoir has to be one of if not the best memoir I have ever read in my entire life. Safiya Sinclair clearly took her time to paint a very clear picture of what her life was like growing up Rastafarian.

Hers is a story of pain and glory. What I absolutely love and appreciate about this story is the uniqueness of it. I was happy to learn more about Rastafarisnism customs especially.

Safiya and her family went through a lot, all members. Her father, I think is the most notable character. I love how in the midst of all the trauma the family experienced growing up with him, I cant help but feeling it made all of them stronger. I felt sad for him because, it seemed he had a vision of how his life would have turned out and felt like a failure in a way.

I cannot wait for my book club to unpack this.

This is a masterpiece.

Bridgertons #1: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

 About 

In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable…but not too amiable.

Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.

Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar.

The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule...

This novel includes the 2nd epilogue, a peek at the story after the story.

My Thoughts 

This was my last book for 2023 and I enjoyed it a lot. As most people I would have watched Bridgerton on Netflix. I heard many mixed reviews about the novels.

I am not much of a romance reader but I fell in love with Daphne and Simon more than I did in the series. I love how complicated Simon was as a result of his childhood and how it took his one true love Daphne Bridgerton to help him conquer his fears. This whole story really showed what true love is.

There was humor in it as well. I especially liked Violet Bridgerton's character. She had some funny moments in the story. The book helped me to understand her a little more.

In all this was a great way to end the ye

Book Review: Too Late by Colleen Hoover

 

About 

Sloan will go through hell and back for those she loves. And she does so, every single day. Caught up with the alluring Asa Jackson, a notorious drug trafficker, Sloan has finally found a lifeline to cling to, even if it’s meant compromising her morals. She was in dire straits trying to pay for her brother’s care until she met Asa. But as Sloan became emotionally and economically reliant on him, he in turn developed a disturbing obsession with her—one that becomes increasingly dangerous every day.

When undercover DEA agent Carter enters the picture, Sloan’s surprised to feel an immediate attraction between them, despite knowing that if Asa finds out, he will kill him. And Asa has always been a step ahead of everyone in his life, including Sloan. No one has ever gotten in his way.

No one except Carter.

Together, Sloan and Carter must find a way out before it’s too late…

My Thoughts 

The year started off really crazy for me however, I was to get through all that was going on with yet another amazing book by Colleen Hoover. Now if you have been following my reviews you will know that I am on a mission to read all the books by this author.

Too Late is one of my favourites. I like romantic stories with a storyline and Sloan and Luke's story was really dramatic to say the least. In Too Late we meet Sloan, a young woman who had to make some hard decisions because of the hands she was dealt in life. She finds some comfort in her boyfriend ASA.

Asa is involved in shady dealings and is dealing with demons of his own. While undercover Luke gets a first hand view of the life of Asa. He suddenly becomes very intent on saving Sloan before it is Too Late.

Filled with suspense, drama and romance. Too Late is indeed a page turner.