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Beautiful Struggle (2008)

by Ta-Nehisi Coates(Favorite Author)

3.83 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0385526849 (ISBN13: 9780385526845)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Random House Publishing Group

review 1: A very eloquent biography of a familiy and a boy's journey to manhood. Tells the story of a boy raised by a black panther in the Baltimore of the crack era. Not your typical rags to riches story of escaping a bad situation, but rather a loving story of beautiful people living beautiful lives. The narrative focuses on the struggles of a black family struggling to make it, to be authentic to their roots, to not compromise to a system that abuses them, and to simply be a family.There is a lot more to be said, but Coates has an eye and a good hand for description. This is not an angry book. I finished wondering why it wasn't an angry book, because the humanity of the people involved shines clearly through the pages and it seems unnecessarily heroic for any of these kids to mak... moree it to adulthood, let alone make it unscarred and happy. It doesn't have to be this way.
review 2: A flowing stream of consciousness of a story, this book isn't for everyone but I sort of wish everyone would read it anyway. A beautiful insight into the day to day realities and the competing pressures in the lives of young urban black boys -- the push to achieve in conventional ways (and lift the race up with you!) rubbing up against the pull into coolness and a certain form of authenticity that is all too often rolled up in questionable peer activity. How do you stay "in" with your friends without disappointing your parents? When and what do you pursue ? What does it mean to have the crushing weight of history on your shoulders when you are just one mixed-up teenage boy? Lots to think about, no easy answers. Ta-Nehisi clearly ended up OK, but we're never quite sure how or why. His parents certainly loved him, but lots of parents love their kids and still can't save them. His parents certainly fought for him, but so do others to no avail. All this to say, the book was frustrating and flawed and glaringly incomplete but I still don't think I'd change a single word. It is necessarily messy. less

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