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Diary of a Lost Girl: The Autobiography of Kola Boof
Kola Boof's long awaited autobiography "Diary of a Lost Girl" is nothing less than magnificent. Many will be spellbound by more than 90 pages detailing her terrifying experience as Osama Bin Laden's former mistress, but the Sudanese-born Novelist/Poet writes even more profoundly about the hardships of being vaginally circumcised, about witnessing her birth parents killed in her presence as a small child, about slavery and Arabism in Sudan, about being adopted and raised in the U.S. by African Americans, about her quest for true love, and in one particularly daring chapter, about her hopes for the future of her sons. Add to that years of psychiatric treatment, a struggle with manic anger and quite a few daring romances other than Bin Laden and you've got the perfect ingredients for a feature film.
Critically acclaimed for her powerful novels "Flesh and the Devil", "Pure Nigger Evil" and the classic short story collection, "Long Train to the Redeeming Sin"...I'm now convinced that there's no way Kola Boof could ever create a fictional character in one of her novels that is more glamorous, sad, enigmatic and intriguing than she herself is in real life.
Critically acclaimed for her powerful novels "Flesh and the Devil", "Pure Nigger Evil" and the classic short story collection, "Long Train to the Redeeming Sin"...I'm now convinced that there's no way Kola Boof could ever create a fictional character in one of her novels that is more glamorous, sad, enigmatic and intriguing than she herself is in real life.
441 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 24, 2011
I personally don't care whether or not she's crazy or even telling the truth. This book helped me to rediscover the feminist in myself and should be a must read for all women.
April 6, 2011
Kola Boof's writing is captivating, as is the story of her life. The ideas in her book dealing with race, color, and sexism are fascinating, challenging and ring true. Her style opens her up to us and shows a genuine person, one you might not always like, but certainly genuine, certainly showing us humanity coming from a life full of hardship and beauty.
I really enjoyed the book, and found Boof charming and real. She seems to have some beef with fatness and "ugliness," which made me wary, as well as some confounding ideas about relationships between men and women. But it was all wonderful and eye opening, and I feel richer for the reading.
I highly recommend the book, and be prepared to read some difficult passages regarding rape, murder, racism, colorism, sexism, and the treatment of people as subhuman.
I really enjoyed the book, and found Boof charming and real. She seems to have some beef with fatness and "ugliness," which made me wary, as well as some confounding ideas about relationships between men and women. But it was all wonderful and eye opening, and I feel richer for the reading.
I highly recommend the book, and be prepared to read some difficult passages regarding rape, murder, racism, colorism, sexism, and the treatment of people as subhuman.
February 10, 2009
This was a difficult book to read as Kola shares her difficult story. Her courage is amazing and sets her apart from others. I definitely recommend this book to everyone and I would be happy to let you borrow it!!
February 12, 2015
Very interesting book. Have been following her career for a while now, and was highly intrigued and enjoyed what I read. Definitely a must-read for anyone!
January 15, 2013
Diary of a Lost Girl by Kola Boof is an essential read if you want to understand what motives Kola Boof's statements about women, race and life in general. She is a very interesting individual and her autobiography holds nothing back about her story as an African woman making her way in the world.
October 17, 2011
Read my review here: http://jazzuloo.blogspot.com/2011/09/...
December 29, 2014
A Bit Much But Interesting
This book described very interesting life stories about Kola. Almost unreal. It was a good book but it was a bit overwhelming and repetitive.
This book described very interesting life stories about Kola. Almost unreal. It was a good book but it was a bit overwhelming and repetitive.
December 23, 2010
Interesting read but I still wonder if it is all true.
July 27, 2014
This is one of the best books I have ever read!
February 17, 2020
So far, I can't put the book down, & know I will be reading & watching everything I can from her (most of which i will probably have to find on the internet). It is not an easy read, but she has struggled to have her voice heard, & I am so glad she has that opportunity now. Warning: it is not "PG", & there are some tacky, shocking, & revolting sentences spoken, often in an expression of suppressed (or not so suppressed) anger, imo. My eyes are opened to so much of the injustice around the world & middle eastern names are no longer "Greek to me"--they all have a personal element now. This woman's difficult life, & the telling of it from her perspective, will one day have a great impact on the world. She knows both English & Arabic from childhood, & some of her mother's native tribal language. She has a way that only she can have of tying together tribal Africa, with Arab Muslims, with Al quaeda, with "black" America, & "whites" of the world. Her experience from birth is unique & just having read 1/2 of her autobiography, I feel like a much more dimensional person. I feel her story is relatable, & there are probably hundreds with similar experiences who have been "successfully" silenced by their oppressors. I will hopefully have time to do a better review upon completion of the book, because I do not feel I have done it justice. I recommend that anyone with a heart, or a care in the world, read this. & yes, I believe her story.
October 6, 2011
Interesting and intriguing to say the least, often times redundant. I may be interested in reading something else by Kola Boof but I need to let my brain marinate on this particular read.
October 14, 2013
I thought it was a bit repetitive, and racist. However, it gives you food for thought, and allows you to see things from her perspective. Hers is a story most of us don't have to live through, for that, I'm very grateful.
July 20, 2009
Interesting book by a controversial author/woman. I think the book could have been reduced to half the number of pages as she is very redundant. Gives the reader a lot to question/speculate. I don't doubt that she was the "mistress" of Osama---who would want to make up such a story?
February 28, 2021
Amazing
I chose this rating because it was a good read, funny, informative, real (sincere). I would like all women to read this book. Love your work. Thank you for sharing the most intimate part of your life. You are a good story teller.
I chose this rating because it was a good read, funny, informative, real (sincere). I would like all women to read this book. Love your work. Thank you for sharing the most intimate part of your life. You are a good story teller.
November 13, 2012
Hard for me to stay with - interesting, glad I read it.
Want to Read
March 20, 2008This is written by Osama's former girlfriend. He is obsessed with Whitney Houston and she looks a lot like Whitney so he made her be his girlfriend.
Read
April 4, 2014I don't know how to begin to respond to the Autobiography of Kola Boof, but I've done my best at Biblivoracious.
July 4, 2026
If I could use any words to describe this book I would say, raw, uncensored, vulgar, bad, good.
It was hard to read this book, their were times where I had to stop and take a breather because it was to much. I couldn’t believe someone went thru so much. Boof was so unfiltered when describing her personal experiences. She went thru so much as a child and adolescence and as an adult.
This book is definitely split into three parts, her childhood and her experience with loosing her family and coming into a new country, her life with Bin Laden and her life after.
The parts with Bin Laden were honorific, she went into detail and wasn’t afraid to be honest of all her emotions, which in some way can be more revealing than the physical things she went through.
The woman that came afterwards was a different person, she was put into the spotlight and like any victim of assault had to defend herself as if she was responsible for what happened.
Midway through the book and maybe even now I am unsure of who she really is. I can’t help seeing her as a victim, a victim of the time she lived in, of her culture and ideas that have deep roots in everything she does. I also had doubts, I also wonder if Kola Boof is real, something that comes up in the book. I started wondering if this is all real, did this really happen or does she like this story that developed around her and just added to it. Their were also times where if I did believe her I wonder why she put herself in those situations. Like I said I saw her as a victim as someone that something bad happened to her but as the story progressed I wonder why she put herself in danger. I almost wondered if she seek it out, pain seem to be the only thing she wanted.
Even when she found “Aquaman” and she wrote the story like finally she found someone, she in her on words contradicted herself, he had many woman, meaning he wasn’t devoted to her, when they were together she allowed other woman to sleep with him and she herself said she allowed this because if it was the other way she would have wanted it to be that way.
She also brought race and culture and religion into everything. Something I like about her is that she sees the beauty of everyone. She recognizes that black people especially woman are seen as ugly and are usually look down on for the color of there skin and hair. And not just in the US but in many places. At the same time I also saw that that she saw in other people in her. I would say she is also raíces and sexist too. A part of me can understand because if you are constantly attack you become angry too, but I wonder if she knows she is also doing the same thing.
The only reason why I gave this book 4 stars is because it’s a very interesting story. Do I believe it, I can’t say I do or I don’t. It seem so out of my world that I can’t comprehend if it is real. I was impressed by her take in female sexuality, something that even now is seen as something bad. She portraits herself as honest as possible. She who went through female mutilation and made her into what she says a eternal virgin. She feels horrible pain and also gets pleasure from this.
She speaks of being this goddess of beauty and connected to earth but after reading the book I can’t help but seeing her more like a small boat in the Nile being thrown all over the place with no direction.
At times she is a narcissist and at the same time she is very self aware. At the end I am very intrigued by this person.
It was hard to read this book, their were times where I had to stop and take a breather because it was to much. I couldn’t believe someone went thru so much. Boof was so unfiltered when describing her personal experiences. She went thru so much as a child and adolescence and as an adult.
This book is definitely split into three parts, her childhood and her experience with loosing her family and coming into a new country, her life with Bin Laden and her life after.
The parts with Bin Laden were honorific, she went into detail and wasn’t afraid to be honest of all her emotions, which in some way can be more revealing than the physical things she went through.
The woman that came afterwards was a different person, she was put into the spotlight and like any victim of assault had to defend herself as if she was responsible for what happened.
Midway through the book and maybe even now I am unsure of who she really is. I can’t help seeing her as a victim, a victim of the time she lived in, of her culture and ideas that have deep roots in everything she does. I also had doubts, I also wonder if Kola Boof is real, something that comes up in the book. I started wondering if this is all real, did this really happen or does she like this story that developed around her and just added to it. Their were also times where if I did believe her I wonder why she put herself in those situations. Like I said I saw her as a victim as someone that something bad happened to her but as the story progressed I wonder why she put herself in danger. I almost wondered if she seek it out, pain seem to be the only thing she wanted.
Even when she found “Aquaman” and she wrote the story like finally she found someone, she in her on words contradicted herself, he had many woman, meaning he wasn’t devoted to her, when they were together she allowed other woman to sleep with him and she herself said she allowed this because if it was the other way she would have wanted it to be that way.
She also brought race and culture and religion into everything. Something I like about her is that she sees the beauty of everyone. She recognizes that black people especially woman are seen as ugly and are usually look down on for the color of there skin and hair. And not just in the US but in many places. At the same time I also saw that that she saw in other people in her. I would say she is also raíces and sexist too. A part of me can understand because if you are constantly attack you become angry too, but I wonder if she knows she is also doing the same thing.
The only reason why I gave this book 4 stars is because it’s a very interesting story. Do I believe it, I can’t say I do or I don’t. It seem so out of my world that I can’t comprehend if it is real. I was impressed by her take in female sexuality, something that even now is seen as something bad. She portraits herself as honest as possible. She who went through female mutilation and made her into what she says a eternal virgin. She feels horrible pain and also gets pleasure from this.
She speaks of being this goddess of beauty and connected to earth but after reading the book I can’t help but seeing her more like a small boat in the Nile being thrown all over the place with no direction.
At times she is a narcissist and at the same time she is very self aware. At the end I am very intrigued by this person.
February 22, 2020
This starts out as a compelling and readable autobiography, even if I don't believe it's exactly truthful, but gradually disintegrates into a denigration of virtually every person in the world, either individually or generically by subgroup or gender.
May 6, 2022
This was a hard book to close. There’s a lot of rant and she is young, but “she’s spent her whole life being dictated to.” Love her... believe her…agree with her… or not, her thoughts, opinions, and story is real talk.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews