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Too Beautiful for Words
This startling, stunning debut novel by a young African-American writer offers a hard-edged portrait of life on the streets of Oakland, California. Seventeen-year-old Angie was a good girl until she met Jesus, an attractive, smooth-talking pimp with a heart of steel, who lures her into working for him. Changing Angie's name to Peaches, Jesus introduces her in heartbreaking tragedy, her son, Jason, must decide whether to continue this legacy or to stop the cycle of hopelessness and violence that threatens to swallow his own life as well.
Beautifully told in alternating voices that ring vibrantly true, this novel captures with exquisite honesty the brutality and humanity of the streets.
Beautifully told in alternating voices that ring vibrantly true, this novel captures with exquisite honesty the brutality and humanity of the streets.
- GenresFictionAfrican American
Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 31, 2017
Too Beautiful for Words gives a heartbreaking glimpse into the world of pimping in Oakland, California.
Beginning in the 1960s, it follows teenaged Peaches from "the West", living with her strict churchgoing grandparents who offer discipline without any love. Peaches finds attention from Jesus, a handsome and flashy Black and Mexican pimp who woos her with enough game to get her on his team. Eventually, she has a baby with Jesus, and soon tragedy strikes, leaving her son Jason to figure out life with zero guidance and some of the worst role models for a young boy to look up to.
This book is sad because too much of it is based on real life circumstances. It's difficult to understand why anyone would live the life of a pimp or prostitute. This novel shows how it can happen by highlighting the disparities between those who grow up with love and those who don't. And there are far too many who don't.
Despite that, I enjoyed the setting because the book is drenched in Oakland culture thru the 90s (our slang, neighborhoods, our Black consciousness, and even old school "Festival at the Lake" makes an appearance). I wouldn't recommend this for the faint of heart, though.
Beginning in the 1960s, it follows teenaged Peaches from "the West", living with her strict churchgoing grandparents who offer discipline without any love. Peaches finds attention from Jesus, a handsome and flashy Black and Mexican pimp who woos her with enough game to get her on his team. Eventually, she has a baby with Jesus, and soon tragedy strikes, leaving her son Jason to figure out life with zero guidance and some of the worst role models for a young boy to look up to.
This book is sad because too much of it is based on real life circumstances. It's difficult to understand why anyone would live the life of a pimp or prostitute. This novel shows how it can happen by highlighting the disparities between those who grow up with love and those who don't. And there are far too many who don't.
Despite that, I enjoyed the setting because the book is drenched in Oakland culture thru the 90s (our slang, neighborhoods, our Black consciousness, and even old school "Festival at the Lake" makes an appearance). I wouldn't recommend this for the faint of heart, though.
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December 17, 2007Based on a song that I wrote called "Me And Jesus The Pimp In A '79 Granada Last Night"
February 23, 2012
This was an intoxicating read for me, one that I didn’t want to put down. Told from multiple perspectives spanning two generations, Too Beautiful for Words is the story of a pimp named Jesus from the ghettos of west Oakland, his number 1 ho, Peaches, their son Jason, and a rebellious woman from the Black Panther party named Chianka, whose name means “God Decides.” Chianka is the bridge between the two generations: once a friend to Peaches in the late 70′s when Jason was just a baby, in the 90′s she encourages her friend’s son to recognize that despite his poor and limited upbringing, he has the right and the power to choose his own path for his life despite his father’s urging (through letters written to his son from prison) to encourage him to follow his father’s footsteps. Jason is torn between the two worlds while trying to prove himself on the streets he is touched by Chianka’s knowledge of his mother’s relationship to him.
“He seemed to have developed the soul of a leader and the coping mechanisms of a follower. It was something that I had seen before in our people.” (163)
My life is so far from the lives of these characters, yet I was thoroughly engrossed in their perspective. The narrative voices are totally distinct and believable. Peaches, an uneducated woman who enjoys male attention, worships her Jesus the pimp so much that she feels remorse towards paying her rent with the money she has earned on the streets because it isn’t her money to spend, it belongs to Jesus first. Jesus believes in the rules of the street above all and he honors his hos that follow through with their words and is willing to punish those that break the code of the street. Chianka is an educated woman who believes in breaking the law to disrupt the peace because the laws have been created by the white man to continue the subjugation of the black people. All of these perspectives blend together to portray a picture of African American ghetto culture that is both sad and hopeful, despicable and understandable, all while totally enthralling. Too Beautiful for Words truly stood up to its title.
“I’m not talking about any white man’s rules or religion, either. Brother, I’m talking about the system’s game that you choose to play by following some pimp who’s got all you people convinced he’s God….All I’m saying is that you can choose how you play any game you find yourself in. It’s not about religion. It’s about life choices. Life.” (165)
“He seemed to have developed the soul of a leader and the coping mechanisms of a follower. It was something that I had seen before in our people.” (163)
My life is so far from the lives of these characters, yet I was thoroughly engrossed in their perspective. The narrative voices are totally distinct and believable. Peaches, an uneducated woman who enjoys male attention, worships her Jesus the pimp so much that she feels remorse towards paying her rent with the money she has earned on the streets because it isn’t her money to spend, it belongs to Jesus first. Jesus believes in the rules of the street above all and he honors his hos that follow through with their words and is willing to punish those that break the code of the street. Chianka is an educated woman who believes in breaking the law to disrupt the peace because the laws have been created by the white man to continue the subjugation of the black people. All of these perspectives blend together to portray a picture of African American ghetto culture that is both sad and hopeful, despicable and understandable, all while totally enthralling. Too Beautiful for Words truly stood up to its title.
“I’m not talking about any white man’s rules or religion, either. Brother, I’m talking about the system’s game that you choose to play by following some pimp who’s got all you people convinced he’s God….All I’m saying is that you can choose how you play any game you find yourself in. It’s not about religion. It’s about life choices. Life.” (165)
July 18, 2007
inspired by Oakland Hip hop group The Coup's song "Me and Jesus the pimp and a '79 Granada last night." What if your dad was a pimp and your mom was his #1 prostitute?
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February 4, 2016*SPOILER* Jason's turnaround seemed a little too quick and pat for me. Was killing his father the best solution?
December 10, 2018
An earnest first novel. As a fan of The Coup, I appreciate that she kept plot details (and even paraphrased lines from the song ) in the narrative.
November 5, 2019
Good novel. Gives you a lot to think about, especially the religious aspect of it. I usually read nonfiction, but it kept my attention.
July 4, 2023
this shit broke me so bad. super sad but just a beautiful story that takes you through so many generations and their trauma. beautifully written, but will shatter you into a million pieces
December 27, 2007
The book is written by a local author who lives in Oakland and based one of her characters named Jesus (the Pimp) from the The Coup's song and based the book in Oakland.
It was an excellent book that tells a story about a young womyn's struggle with self-identity, cultural/environment corruption, and rebirth of her dying soul/spirit. I selected the women empowerment category for this book because even though the young womyn was a prostitute, she had characteristics that made her a strong womyn. She was a good mother to her son and worked hard to have a decent life. She is a survivor in a dark, cold, and loney world of prostitution. The book shouts out many themes that you can think of but I felt her struggle and enjoyed the ending of the book.
The writing was good and I read it with ease. Read it!
It was an excellent book that tells a story about a young womyn's struggle with self-identity, cultural/environment corruption, and rebirth of her dying soul/spirit. I selected the women empowerment category for this book because even though the young womyn was a prostitute, she had characteristics that made her a strong womyn. She was a good mother to her son and worked hard to have a decent life. She is a survivor in a dark, cold, and loney world of prostitution. The book shouts out many themes that you can think of but I felt her struggle and enjoyed the ending of the book.
The writing was good and I read it with ease. Read it!
October 8, 2019
read this long ago and it's still stuck with me over these 14 years!
April 16, 2014
Fabulous novel set in Oakland - totally gripping.
November 12, 2014
This book makes me want to cry every time I think of it!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews