Kiese LaymonRecensioner

I found myself reliving many conversations, often in tents on the other side of the world, where my eyes - away from the myth of American exceptionalism and innocence, were opened. Guilty of the privileged sin of thinking I knew more than I did. The America not seen at tables of privilege was always a poorly kept secret. But still.

Still, I got to the essay titled 'Reasonable Doubt and the Lost Presidential Election of 2012' - and the sentence, "I also assumed most of those folks were wondering how retribution for this splendid Black American Achievement would be played out on their bodies" and realized the ugliness of American mythology was uglier than realized - centuries of seeing every moment of progress repaid with a violent backlash. And the need to stop overtalking what's being said and to just shut up and listen.

Kiese Laymon lays down these truths in a way that rips the veneer off the myth. It's storytelling at its finest that resists the urge to compartmentalize discussions of justice from discussions of family from discussions of joy from discussions of grief - showing how pervasive hate is. Even after a person has come to terms with its destructiveness, that's only the beginning of the learning process.

Kiese Laymon needs to be read at every level.

As Kiese Laymon's story approaches its end, there's a moment - for maybe half a page - that lulls the reader into a belief in a neat resolution, a final victory, or a happily ever after.

It comes right before the point where the body breaks down and something that I would have seen as success from the outsider, the weight loss, the health, reveals itself as an addiction that slides the speaker past what is healthy into the act of trying to disappear.

The parallels with what failing to reckon with histories of abuse, personal, societal, and the inflicting of terror make this a difficult book to finish. The writing is smooth and direct but the reality that has to be heard on every page and the lies we tell ourselves make reading a few pages at a time valuable. And no matter what I thought I knew of racism and injustice, there's the view of terror practiced on the body and mind that history and news can't show.

I realize early on this story wasn't written for me but it's a realization that made shutting up and listening even more important. The personal gives glimpses that bust through what I thought was wisdom growing up. The connection to the myth of American history busts through the idea that any issue from the past is ever really over. The author's mother mentions with the election of President Obama, the backlash to come, which in itself is true - but also chilling in the realization how often every move forward will be met with this backlash.

Heavy should fill readers with admiration for the author's gift and a rebuke to our own need to cling to illusions about the past and present. And the realization that that success is something that has to be fought for again and again.

Just…overwhelming. Brought me to actual tears. Intense, painful, mournful….I can’t even get to angry because it makes me so sad. This fucked up world. People can’t not hurt each other when they most need to love each other. The sickness of racism cast a shadow so deep I can’t see how we get ourselves out of it.

"If you haven't read or written or listened to something at least three times, you have never really read, written, or listened. True/False"

Oh I was so thrilled when I heard Kiese Laymon had bought back the rights to his wonderful book so he could revise it. I reread the OG when I heard there would be another edition! So I think at this point, I may have read this four times, since I was going back to the older edition while reading the new edition (for a third time) to see possible changes. The book has always been such a delightful mysterious puzzle. Have I figured it out after reading it four times? I don't think you actually CAN figure this book out. The main change is having the two narratives, the two "versions of Long Division" on separate flip sides of the book, rather than intertwined in the original edition. Honestly, I kind of preferred the original intertwining, so both narratives are unraveled at the same time. At least it's good to find out that the intertwining of narratives wasn't what made the mystery? But this is definitely revised. Character names are changed, some details are definitely removed or added to. (But none of my favorite parts were removed, which is the important part of this revision!!!) This book is so full of heart. You can find more on every rereading. I love that Laymon had a chance to revise this -- meaning there are no unintentional details left out or left confusing. I know the care he put into this. But now, I can't wait for his next book!

I have been a fan of Mr. Laymon since the OG 'Long Division', so of course I had to read this memoir. ESPECIALLY after he recently won the MacArthur Genius Grant. I was very happy to see that! His mom and grandmama ensured that words were something he put a lot of work into. So of course this is good stuff. I wanted to listen to the audiobook as I read along in print, as Kiese reads it himself. I think it is essential to hear this in his own voice and he does a great job on the audiobook. He puts his whole heavy heart in this book. Thank you for sharing this with the world, Mr. Laymon.

Hell yes.

Excellent collection of essays. Kiser is a fantasy writer

NA

I need to process this more but I can say I think anyone who has an opportunity to read this book should. Important, powerful, and beautifully written. Gorgeous prose.

Banned Book resolution read. Good and heavy.

I listened to this book in two sittings. Would have been one if I hadn’t started so late at night! This is the finest book I’ve heard in as long as I can remember and deserves all the praise it has. The audiobook was quite powerful itself because it was read by author. Laymon is so earnest and vulnerable throughout the memoir that it feels nearly intrusive to be listening. He is a gifted writer with a unique style. The book was also refreshing as it’s at once a deeply personal memoir of a man yet it gives substantial real estate to the lives, influence, and challenges faced by women, specifically black women.

So many elements to this book - there's time travel, TV contests, interactions with the KKK, teenage rivalries, and a book within the text with a strange resonance for the characters. One theme that really stuck with me was words and language. From the TV contest Can You Use That Word in a Sentence to the discussions between characters about the use of particular kinds of slang and how people from different backgrounds use the same term differently, this book often feels like a mediation on words and language, which I found interesting. On the other hand, I struggled with the plot for much of the book, although I did feel like most of the story came together by the end.

I don't know how much of this I really got, but I liked it. If you like twisty, time-travel, enigmatic books, you'll like it too.

I discovered Laymon in Scratch and laughed out loud over the frustrations of the publishing business. Before I finished the essay, "You Are the Second Person," I ordered all of his books from Copperfield, my locally owned bookstore. Heart achingly true but told with wit, grace, and wisdom, these essays will become part of who you are forever.

Read this one for #EkpesBookClub. This one was a gripping, gut-punching read that discusses some of the very real challenges faced by African Americans and within black culture in the US. In his letter/essay to his mother, the author does not hold back with his discussion of abuse, sexual violence, racism, poverty, discrimination, health, and relationships. He’s also unsparing when it comes to the cultural, societal, and systemic problems that blacks, women, and the poor face in the US. This one will stay with me for a long time. This quote, really hit home: “America seems filled with violent people who like causing people pain but hate when those people tell them that pain hurts.”

This is a very serious book about race amongst teenagers and how they deal with it. Luckily, it is lightened with some humor dabbled through it so the book isn’t too heavy. The author tackles many issues within this book. Laymon’s writing style is very unique and I really enjoyed the proverbial literary ride.

In this intense memoir, novelist and professor Kiese Laymon writes about his life as a Black child in Deep South and as an adult in the North. The narrative is addressed to his mercurial mother, with whom he is enmeshed in a confusing, overpowering relationship. As he tries to break free from her, he finds himself trapped in three impulse control disorders: first binging, then starving, then, finally, compulsive gambling. He also discusses how pervasive racism has affected him psychologically, emotionally, and physically.

This book, which many have called "stunning," deserves to be read, and as Laymon suggests of other books, reread.

audio fiction (meta drama with time travel: 1964, 1985, 2013 Mississippi).
Maybe I would be less confused if I'd read this in print, because it was sometimes tricky to remember if I was listening to the main story, or the story inside the book inside the book (also called Long Division). But I bet I would still be confused.

The narration was, apart from that, really excellent and the characters were interesting.

Keise Laymon Mississippi memoir written mostly as thoughts to his mother, the story of being an adventurous black child who lived with his Grandmama while his mother was pursuing her PhD. An imperfect adult with addictions, issues with women, job discrimination, and difficulties holding it together while seeing that others are getting more privileges. Takes you through much of his triumphs, hardships, and failures. He was given unique homework assignments by his Grandmama and his Mother to practice his writing skills. Compare and contrast politicians, write in the style of Faulkner, and other things. All with the justified cause that the white man might shoot you out of the sky, in so many possible ways, if you don't prove a superior mastery of subjects and skills. This Andrew Carnegie Medal award winning book is important, so that we can understand, what makes it not easy to breathe while being Black. He only touches on some of the racism that he has endured but it's enough to get the idea of why being Black itself is very heavy. This was an book that I read in a day, and enjoyed very much, and Highly recommend as it will spotlight and activate a clearer interpretation of societal flaws that prevent productive outcomes.

Aptly titled, Heavy is a memoir written by the talented Kiese Laymon, often lyrical, ostensibly addressed to his mother, who is the "you" in the narrative. However, it often feels addressed to the reader instead. The heaviness goes way beyond Laymon's ongoing weight struggles to the weight of the lies, racism, poverty, mental and sexual abuse, hunger, coming of age, including importantly his relations with women (mother, grandmother, girlfriends, etc.), and ultimately, his fears, insecurities, and development. Laymon is a sensitive soul in a very hard and unforgiving world. It minces no words in describing the differences in the ways whites and blacks are treated, not just in Mississippi, but all over, including Millsap and Vassar Colleges.

I found the book utterly depressing, despite Laymon's graduation from Oberlin College to become a professor, and while it was helpful in understanding the many trials faced by Laymon, it did not seem to offer any solutions. Maybe that's the point -- that readers need to think about people's backgrounds more. I was horrified by Laymon's mother, who beat Kiese, neglected him emotionally and barely fed him at times, and then took advantage of him for money to feed her compulsive gambling. Thank goodness for his grandmother.

Stunning. In both (all) senses of the word.

Even more stunning and devastating than I could have ever expected. I appreciated how he structured this collection around his struggles with his weight and addressing the book to his mother to really pick apart the way racism has impacted his life. Every bit as fantastic as the hype.

I liked how much this book tackled and its very satirical bent. I can have a hard time with time travel, though, and I think that's what tripped me up about this...between that and the book element, this might have been more effective to me if I had read it instead of listening to it. Worth a revisit, but I'm glad I read it. Yet another book that should have been nominated for an Alex.

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Read Harder: book about books (well A book in this case)

It seems to me that the author here might have watched the series Dark on Netflix for his ideas in this novel. Like Dark the characters move to and from specific periods in time through time travel. In Dark the passage comes from a portal in a cave. Here it is in a large hole in the ground. The story centers on a missing girl and whether you can change the present and future by changing the past. The cast of characters here are primarily Black but that is not essential to the thrust of the plot. A good book.