How to Say Babylon: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
How to Say Babylon is the beautifully written memoir of Safiya Sinclair who grew up in Jamaica with a strict and controlling Rastafari father. This is undoubtedly one of the best works I have ever read by a Caribbean author.
I chose to do the audio version because it was a delight to hear it read by the author. As a Jamaican myself, I appreciated her use of patois to convey meaning and authenticity. I especially loved that she referred to the US as “farin” throughout the book.
It was fascinating to watch her relationship with her father evolve from adoring to tyrannical to eventually, an uneasy truce. Her story illustrated how we are drawn to the familiar even when we know it is not good for us.
I enjoyed learning about what it was like growing up Rastafari in Jamaica. Though I have Rastafari family members, I know very little of the persecution and discrimination they experience growing up in a very conservative and judgmental society. Just recently, we talked about how our grandmother used to brush out their hair because she did not want the grandkids to have locks.
I was disappointed with the ending sections of the book. Her discussion of her time at UVA was very abstract and philosophical and definitely less powerful than the earlier sections. The ending wasn’t satisfying for me. I would have liked more information on where she ended up and also where her siblings and parents ended up.
The writing is very lyrical. It is very clear that Sinclair is a poet. For someone who loves poetry that will be a plus. For someone like me who is less drawn to poetry sometimes I found the writing too flowery and descriptive. But overall, this was not enough to distract from the beauty of this story.
From the early descriptions of Haille Selassie’s visit to the island and what that meant to the Rastafari population, her descriptions of the first time her father beat them, her experiences in school, all the way to her final acknowledgements where she described my beloved Jamaica as her first love – How to Say Babylon was full of moments that caused me to well up with tears.
How to Say Babylon I would rate 4.5 stars and round up to a rare 5 star rating from me.
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