Heavy: An American Memoir

by Kiese Laymon

Book Overview

*Selected as One of the Best Books of the 21st Century by The New York Times*

*Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, NPR, Broadly, BuzzFeed (Nonfiction), The Undefeated, Library Journal (Biography/Memoirs), The Washington Post (Nonfiction), Southern Living (Southern), Entertainment Weekly, and The New York Times Critics*...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1501125664
• ISBN13: 9781501125669
• Release Date: March 2019
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Book of despair and negativity

I bought this on a rave recommendation from a friend who found it "revelatory," or something like that. It's the story of an overweight black kid, then man, who grew up in the Deep South (Mississippi) with an abusive mother and absent father. Having grown up myself in a neighboring state starting in the 50's, I didn't find anything much revealing about the early chapters. As the book progresses, it turns into the story of an adult with a bad psychopathology and becomes very negative, dark, and depressing, the story of a very screwed up "victim" who is blaming his issues on being black and on his mother. The writing style is supposed to be good, but I would call it "unusual" or "unconventional." It didn't add much if anything to the book for me and certainly was not enough to make up for how depressing and frustrating it was. I wish that I had spent my time on something else instead of in the mind of such a messed-up person.

Raw, honest, heartbreaking voice. A must read for all Americans.

I loved this book. The topic seemed “heavy” when I read about it, but don’t let that deter you. This book will surprise and delight all readers sensitive about the struggle of all boys to grow up in the shadow of a powerful, domineering mother, and in a country that doesn’t fully value its citizens. A wonderful, honest, triumphant story of how to grow tall and strong like a vine, without the proper structures to hold you up, and doing it anyway.