How to Say Babylon: A Memoir

How to Say Babylon: A Memoir

2023 • 352 pages

Ratings12

Average rating4.8

15

I'm only half kidding when I say it's a Rastafarian Educated, but that's too easy an analogy that doesn't do the language justice. Sinclair is a poet and it comes through in the absolutely gorgeous prose here. Describing her life of near poverty in Jamaica, living under the volatile whims of her father and his seemingly arbitrary adherence to Rastafarian tenets only gives you the barest of outlines. It is a truly incredible story that is both unbelievably restrained and measured while searing in its observations. Sinclair manages to extend grace to those whose actions would easily justify a scorched earth takedown. It was a bookclub selection that I wasn't sure about, but found myself grateful for the chance to experience this one.

March 21, 2024