I absolutely love when poets write things other than poetry, and this memoir is no exception. This book has a bit of the feeling of Educated, but a much different setting/story/family. Some parts of this book are upsetting, some are inspiring, and I'm very glad Safiya was able to tell this story.

Memoirs are stories I like to listen to as a reading cleanse as well as perspective on real world views and personal stories. This one just was not a story I was able to keep my attention while reading, however I may come back to it once available on audio since that is my preference of reading/listening to memoirs.

This beauty of a memoir lets you feel the breeze of Jamaica and the sand under your feet. Safiya brings her parents to life on the page. She shares both their stories that brought them together, two lost an sad souls. Her mother brims with love and self sacrifice while her father spirals down dwelling on his lack of success, never his fault, as he takes it out on his family. Like many zealots, the fringes of the religion overshadow what once was the loving parent. Safiya and her siblings dreadlocks became the symbol for their father's control and closing them off from Babylon. The longer they grew, the tighter the control and abuse. One by one, the dreadlocks go and the sisters fly free. 4.5 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this advanced reader's copy.

How to Say Babylon


There is much more to the Rastafarian belief system than dreadlocks and reggae. Rastafarians use cannabis, ‘natural’ hairstyles, vegetarianism, modest apparel, and a patriarchal social structure, among other things, as part of their belief system. These guidelines are to protect them from the corrupting influence of Western culture, which is referred to as Babylon.

Jamaican Safiya Sinclair seeks to find herself through poetry. It is her way to express her emotions and viewpoints in spite of her father’s oppressive and rigid control of the women in his life, especially his daughters.

At some point the conflict becomes too great and a rift develops between Sariya and her father.
How this issue is resolved is a gripping and interesting memoir. This is nonfiction with the dramatic tension of fiction.

I was excited about this book because I had gotten the impression that while the media makes Rastafarians look chill, it's actually a really rigid and patriarchal culture. Sinclair did a great job of talking about her upbringing and her difficult father and explaining the greater culture. Her writing is very lyrical and compelling.

Poetry in motion…A lyrical memoir written by a poet with a bruising Rastafarian upbringing. A story of salvation, courage, fortitude, and hope that changed the course of the author’s life. One often reads memoirs that talk about the “hard-luck life” of the subject but this one is in a class of its own. Learning about Rastafari and its stringent rules laid down by the father was fascinating and eye-opening. There was lots of love between the siblings and the mother but a love-hate relationship with the boundaries set by the father. Despite their poverty, the author, Safiya, was extremely intelligent and went on to win all kinds of prestigious academic and poetry awards. What was amazing was her drive and thirst for knowledge, reading entire encyclopedias to fill her starved soul. Where did that come from? Year after year, setback after setback, she rose to the occasion and never let her dreams die. The story also lets us into the world of her siblings, also very accomplished, and makes one deeply enmeshed in their futures as well. Emotionally very powerful, this memoir begs to be read, and doesn’t let one go quietly into the night.

Buckle up, bookworms, because Safiya Sinclair's captivating memoir, How to Say Babylon: A Memoir, will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, liberation, and poetic brilliance. If you've been craving a gripping story akin to Educated and Born a Crime, then this book is an absolute must-read.

From the very first page, Sinclair transports you into her world, where the shadows of Babylon loom large. Now, you might be wondering, "What the heck is Babylon?" Well, my friend, it's the embodiment of all the corrupting influences and oppressive forces of the Western world, and Sinclair's struggle to break free from its clutches lies at the heart of her memoir.

Growing up in a strict Rastafarian household ruled by her volatile reggae musician father, Sinclair faced the suffocating grip of her father's patriarchal views and his obsessive desire to preserve her purity. With a laundry list of restrictions—long skirts, head wraps, no makeup, no opinions, no friends—she and her sisters were locked away from the outside world. But fear not, for Sinclair's mother, a quiet rebel, smuggled books into their lives, igniting a spark within Sinclair's soul.

The author's lyrical prose dances across the pages, giving voice to the pain and resilience that defined her journey. Sinclair's words resonate long after you've turned the last page, leaving you with a profound appreciation for the transformative power of literature. Her exploration of finding solace and strength in poetry is a testament to the indomitable spirit of the human soul.

One of the standout qualities of How to Say Babylon is Sinclair's ability to craft vivid and evocative imagery. With each sentence, she paints a picture that burrows deep into your imagination. Lines like "terror lay dormant in our house" and "buoyed by the faintest fumes of hope" will linger in your mind, reminding you of the author's sheer poetic brilliance.

Nevertheless, this minor quibble doesn't detract from the overall impact of How to Say Babylon. Sinclair's memoir is a bold reckoning with tradition, patriarchy, and the stifling grip of colonialism. It is a powerful testament to the strength and resilience of women as they navigate the treacherous waters of self-discovery.

In closing, I wholeheartedly recommend How to Say Babylon: A Memoir. Safiya Sinclair's mesmerizing storytelling will leave you spellbound, craving more of her poignant and thought-provoking words. And if, like me, you find yourself yearning for additional doses of Sinclair's literary prowess, be sure to check out her poetry collections, Cannibal and Catacombs.

A special thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Mark your calendars, folks, as this remarkable memoir is set to be published on October 3, 2023. Don't miss out on this unforgettable literary journey!

This is a must-read! The author, a Jamaican American poet lyrically describes life in a rigid Rastafarian household. She skillfully weaves forces of colonialism, sexism, and poverty shaping Jamaica and that pushed her father to a strict Rastafarian life as a way to manage the unmanageable.

I had associated Rastafarianism with a live and let live spirit. But the fundamentalist strain of Rastafarianism that the author experienced was the opposite. It applied strict limits to behavior, especially women’s behavior; diet; and dress. I had never known this version of the faith. For this and the historic context the book provides of Jamaica, the book is a must read.

There is more. The author inspires with her resilience. She faces setback after setback in trying to escape this world but never gives up. Despite the struggle, the author’s descriptions of the lush Jamaican landscape will be a treat for readers.

In many ways, this book is an ode to the power of writing. In being able to tell her own story, one that her father adamantly denied, the author grasps control. On a practical level, it was the author’s writing skills that allow her to excel in school and chart a path out of her childhood.

Loved this book and highly recommend it!

This memoir tells Safiya's story of growing up in Jamaica - poor, black, and the daughter of a Rastafarian man whose own upbringing left him unfit for parenthood. His belief system in regards to women was that they needed their virtue to be protected from the white, developed world, known as Babylon, by any means possible. He essentially sequestered his three daughters away from society, and this memoir relates Safiya's upbringing in this context.

Interestingly, all of the children in the Sinclair family are immensely talented, and these talents ultimately acted as a crowbar to a different life. Safiya is a poet, and this memoir is infused with the language of poetry. This beautiful writing was both an asset to the book - - elevating it far above a story of mere trauma, and a detriment, making it a bit harder to "get into" the story. The initial few chapters are ones where you may be tempted not to continue, but the writing gets more assured and more propulsive as the book continues, leading to a satisfying conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to review. It tells of Safiya's upbringing in Jamaica living in a strict Rastafarian household. She shares her story of breaking away from this and finding herself and her voice through writing. This was an enjoyable read. I love reading memoirs and this one in particular as she shares her experience as well as that of Jamaica's history of colonialism and its impact on the people. Beautifully written this one will stay with me for a while.

Safiya Sinclair's beautifully written memoir will be a reader favorite this fall. Safiya's lyrical voice weaves together scenes from her childhood until the sea and the cherry trees and the pain of family feel tangible to readers. Her story is once alien and familiar - readers are unlikely to know much about Rastafari or its place in Jamaican society, but we have all felt (or at least, can empathize with) the sting of disappointment, familial betrayal, violence, poverty, and a driving need for escape. The author's voice, the voice of a poet, pulls images together to conjure this story in ways that flow and bounce and feel rhythmic to read.

Needless to say, I loved this story. I feel it will be very popular among bookclubs in the coming months. The narrative does tend to drag and repeat itself quite a bit and the middle felt slow to me. However, the ending was a shining light at the end of the tunnel (in more ways than one, since it felt like the author was never going to escape this house) and it was worth the wait - the ending brings the full force of the author's talents to the fore and opens up into a vulnerability that feels like freedom. To be honest, I wish she had focused less on the trauma of her upbringing and more on the place she now finds herself - trying to forgive, to mend, to heal, to bring together her family once again despite the distance she and they obviously need. I'm so happy I got to read this and look forward to reading the author's poetry next.

What a brilliant feat of storytelling this stunning memoir is. That it's written by a poet is evident in every word of this lyrical prose and the astonishing rhythm of its sentences. Every emotion is alive on the page, and floods the reader with all of Sinclair's rage and heartbreak and enormous love. I can't wait to see this book be read and celebrated this fall.

Didn't finish - I couldn't get into this, quit about a third of the way in. I couldn't quite keep up with the chronology and the mother & father's volatility seemed very repetitive.

When reading How to Say Babylon, I immediately thought of Educated and books such as When the World Didn’t End. Safiya Sinclair opens readers to the world of Rasta and the way that she grew up in a strict Rasta home. We are able to see the ways that these experiences affected Safiya and how it has shaped her into who she is today.

I was drawn to this book after seeing comparisons to Born a Crime and Educated, and I'm here to say that How to Say Babylon packs the same punch as those memoirs. Safiya Sinclair takes you through her life in Jamaica and beyond; she recounts growing up under the thumb of her Rastafarian father, the bonds she forged with her siblings, her close relationship with her mother, and how poetry saved her and gave her a path out of Jamaica. The narrative around the power of female connection and the reflection on a family's history and future especially struck a chord with me. Although I have not (yet) read her other works, I'm certain Sinclair's prose is just as beautiful as her poetry.

If you are worried that your existing knowledge of Rastafari is lacking, this book also covers a brief history of the religion that is incredibly helpful. I highly recommend putting this on your Want to Read Shelf now, so you'll be ready to dive in when this memoir publishes in October.

*Thanks to NetGalley for exchanging an e-ARC of this book for an unbiased review!

I was not familiar with Rastafari prior to reading this, and I wish I had done more research prior to reading so as I could feel the full scope of her life. But even without that, this was a very gripping memoir. I felt immersed in her story as the author walks you through her childhood years effortlessly, even though her childhood was filled with abuse towards her and her siblings from their father. Heart wrenching, but beautifully crafted.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received a copy of "How to Say Babylon" and I 'm offering my review in exchange!

I went into this knowing very little about Jamaica and almost NOTHING about the religion of Rastafari. Safiya's writing style is breathtaking and beautiful. I sincerely think this will be one of "those" memoirs that readers will recommend to each other, because it's touching and well written and isn't heavily graphic like other memoirs. Not only that, but I caught myself thinking a lot about the American perception of Rasta and how white people will not really understand why dreadlocks just aren't for us.

"How to Say Babylon" is thought provoking, emotional, and I think will really WOW readers. It's a must read!

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. I really enjoyed this memoir. I thought it started out a bit slow, but it was beautifully written and I learned a lot about a culture I knew very little about going into it.

This was a very beautifully written memoir! I really enjoyed the back story that led up to her story. Now I want to read more of her work.

April 25, 2023
I was hooked from the first page of Safiya Sinclair's memoir, How to Say Babylon: A Memoir. Babylon refers to the sinister forces of western ideology, colonialism, and Christianity.

Her father was a strict Jamaican Rastafarian which meant that his wife and daughters could not wear pants or makeup, or have friends. They were prisoners in their home. Sinclair's father felt a woman's best virtue was obedience and he ruled the household with fear, terror, and violence.

Sinclair's mother introduced her daughters to books because she taught wealthy children how to read. Books created time travel and irrefutable power. Her mother bought her a book of poetry where she learned that pain can be transformed into something beautiful. Sinclair promised herself that she would fly from the cage her father had constructed.

Sinclair's writing style is powerful and pulsating. Some of the memorable passages include:
* Terror lay dormant in our house
* The delicate dance of disremembering the bruise from the night before
* Learned how to sew their mouths shut
* Buoyed by the faintest fumes of hope
* My father sharpened the verbal tools in his arsenal
* Our household was a monsoon of chaos
* Writing felt like oxygen
* Outdreaming the confines of our small world
* There is no American dream without the American massacre

After reading How to Say Babylon: A Memoir, I want to read Cannibal and Catacombs, books of poetry by Sinclair.