Read Women discussion

Our August nonfiction group read, with feminism as its theme, is How to Say Babylon by poet Safiya Sinclair.

How To Say Babylon

How To Say Babylon is Sinclair's memoir of her Rastafarian childhood, her father's belief that a woman’s highest virtue was her obedience, her mother's gift of books, education and especially poetry, and - ultimately - her rebellion against her father's rules and values. Babylon has won too many awards and prizes to list. Jen recommends the Audible version, narrated by the author. It won Best Audiobook of the Year by Audible and AudioFile magazine, too. I think the Kindle version remains on sale, too.

A review of HTSB by Kit de Waal, The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

Safiya Sinclair

Sinclair was born and raised in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She is the author of the poetry collection, Cannibal, winner of a Whiting Award, and is currently an associate professor of creative writing at Arizona State University. Sinclair’s other honours include a Guggenheim fellowship, and fellowships from the Poetry Foundation, the Civitella Rainieri Foundation, the Elizabeth George Foundation, MacDowell, Yaddo, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown.

A transcript of an interview with Sinclair by Lesley-Ann Murphy, creator of the Brown Girl Book Lover platform: https://theadroitjournal.org/2024/05/...

I am really psyched for us to read and discuss this book. Nidhi will lead our discussion. Let us know if you plan to join the discussion.

For those who kindles, How to Say Babylon is on sale $2.99 kindle US. It's been on sale for a month, so I think today is the last day.

I read this for another book club back in April and the audio book was great!! Fascinating story, well told!!

I had the audiobook reserved from my library and really wanted to listen to this for our group read but it's not becoming available until the end of September. I just checked the kobo store thanks to Monica's comment as they often match kindle sales and found its been reduced to 99 pence so I snapped it up and will be able to join you.

Hannah wrote: "I had the audiobook reserved from my library and really wanted to listen to this for our group read but it's not becoming available until the end of September. I just checked the kobo store thanks ..."

wow - that's a bummer, I mean it's a whole 8 weeks away. I'm sorry about the audio, but glad you could get the benefit of the kobo pricing. yay!

Is it possible to move this discussion into "the currently reading" box where the Monthly Read usually goes. When I look into that area I only see a list of members who've read it or marked it to read.

The same is true for the other Group Read.

Thanks in advance.

Mj wrote: "Is it possible to move this discussion into "the currently reading" box where the Monthly Read usually goes. When I look into that area I only see a list of members who've read it or marked it to r..."

MJ, this discussion is in the Currently Reading discussion file, where Monthly Reads typically go. Based on what you’re seeing, it sounds like maybe you’re looking at the Group Bookshelf, but you’d know best. My apologies that I am unable to solve.

I’m in the tiny, tiny minority of readers, based on the high volume of 5 star reviews from many thoughtful readers, for whom this book resonates - but not enough. I largely read it via Audible - at least through page 105 or so - and in sizable chunks. I loved the author’s voice and I learned a lot about Rasta’s origins and connection to Salassie, and late colonial Jamaica. But after devoting hour upon hour and realizing that, in chapter 9 of 29, the author was then recounting her experience as a 9-year old, eg I hadn’t even gotten to her teen years, I realized that the pace is not for me. I’m glad I read 1/3 of it. I am moving on to other books that excite me more.

I read this book earlier in the year and liked it a great deal. It taught me about Rasta beliefs and way of life that I knew nothing about other than the music.
My favorite thing about the book was the prose of Sinclair’s story which carried its lagging parts. I found myself reading one particular part over again because it is so expressive. (Chapter 12, Titled My Eurydice). It is a good thing I do not use a highlighter in my books or this one would have been mostly highlighted.

I just started this one, but enjoying learning about Rasta as well. I wouldn’t have known it was so recent as 1933. (Although I guess that’s nearly a hundred years)

I have just finished this. I thoroughly enjoyed it, learnt a lot and came out with huge admiration for the author, her mother and her siblings. I did find that the poetic prose affected the pacing, slowing it down - sometimes a good thing but sometimes making a few chapters feel over-long.

Was anyone surprised at any events or outcomes in this book? I've read elsewhere that (view spoiler)[after she leaves her Masters program in Virginia, she returns to Jamaica and the Rasta community, which made me go, wait. what? (hide spoiler)]

Carol wrote: "Was anyone surprised at any events or outcomes in this book? I've read elsewhere that [spoilers removed]"

Oh, I hope readers will remind me the details of this aspect. She clearly eventually settled in the US but I'm forgetting if (view spoiler)[she returned because she didn't secure any visa to stay in the US. Or am I confusing this with her time after her undergrad...? (hide spoiler)]

Jen wrote: "Carol wrote: "Was anyone surprised at any events or outcomes in this book? I've read elsewhere that [spoilers removed]"

Oh, I hope readers will remind me the details of this aspect. She clearly ev..."

Now it's bugging me that I can't recall the specific thing I read. She's at Arizona State now so I agree it's a question of whether and for how long. The reader I'm remembering perceived Sinclair as immediately forgiving her father when she returns, which might not be accurate, of course.

One of the most impactful parts I read was when her grandmother had her then-teenaged dad help them all pack up the household and told him there wasn't room for him in the new house. For a few dozen pages, he's struggling with not having any place he belongs and it just got me - the scope and meanness of that parental rejection.

Carol wrote: "Jen wrote: "Carol wrote: "Was anyone surprised at any events or outcomes in this book? I've read elsewhere that [spoilers removed]"

Oh, I hope readers will remind me the details of this aspect. Sh..."

Ohh I think that may have been a part that had me choked up, yea... when the father is basically ousted from his own family as a teenager. It was interesting to learn of all the backlash and discrimination against rasta people, as an uninformed American who understands rasta as just quintessentially Jamaican.

I think I've read a reviewer saying they couldn't believe she'd forgive her father- a similar sentiment as you're referring to. Struggles with her father are obviously a central and ongoing theme and I remember she was estranged from him for a while so I can't say I saw her forgiveness as something that came easily to her, and she really held him accountable- no brushing anything under the rug. I remember her being unwilling to reunite unless he really confronted and apologized for his wrongs against her.

I finished part 1. I am enjoying it as it is written in fiction style. The 'story' has got me interested in what will happen next.

I also recently finished Part 1. I was feeling a bit like Carol described, that the book wasn’t bad but had the feeling of going nowhere. However at Part 2 I switched to the audio version and it took on an entirely new life. It’s very easy to listen to. Her time at the private school is probably just a scratch on the surface of how she felt, and the scene with her teacher/counselor where she wrote down how she felt was eye-opening. It was obvious that she had experienced some taunting and probably ostracism from the girls, but it just goes to show that there was much more of an impact than she had let on up to this point. The downward spiral of her father after Tokyo is quite sad, and there are just a couple incidents she describes to show us the extent of it; the red belt and his other female friends that they’ve met every now and then.
As she ages, we can see that she is now seeing things differently, and questioning them internally at least since she can’t question them externally. I do wish we had more insight into her mother’s thoughts. She seems quite remarkable and I wonder what impassioned her to become Rastafarian.

Anita wrote: "I also recently finished Part 1. I was feeling a bit like Carol described, that the book wasn’t bad but had the feeling of going nowhere. However at Part 2 I switched to the audio version and it to..."

Audible is definitely the way to go (unless, like me, the relatively less speedy consumption becomes an issue). I agree about her mom. I’d love to spend an afternoon listening to her tell her own story.

Jen wrote: "It was interesting to learn of all the backlash and discrimination against rasta people, as an uninformed American who understands rasta as just quintessentially Jamaican..."

I thought exactly the same! To learn of the persecution they went through was all new knowledge.

Lots about her mother in the book but primarily later

Jen wrote: "Lots about her mother in the book but primarily later"

That’s good to know!

Finished. Loved reading this memoir especially her evolution as a poet that begins with a shard.
I knew nothing about Rasta before reading this book, it really enhanced my understanding of cultural aspects which contribute in growth of personality in a human being.

I also finished recently. Glad I stuck with it as the audio picked up at part 2. She does return to Jamaica after her bachelors because her visa stipulated that she find work within a certain timeframe related to her field of study. I believe this is when her father threatened to kill her with the machete. She goes back for her masters and is still in the States. She is working on forgiving her father but says it’s hard as he’s often volatile. Not to excuse him, but he definitely has a lot of trauma from the way he was raised and abandoned by his family, and the way Rastafari were treated.

Anita wrote: "I also finished recently. Glad I stuck with it as the audio picked up at part 2. She does return to Jamaica after her bachelors because her visa stipulated that she find work writing a certain time..."

thanks for circling back on this topic, Anita, of her returns and timing.