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Buck A Memoir MK Asante 9780812993417 Books

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Buck A Memoir MK Asante 9780812993417 Books

M K had me at page one. Long ago, when I read this memoir for the first time, I began reading it while riding on a Detroit bus.

There is this joke at the beginning of chapter 2 where M K Asante talks with his father about pornography that had me in tears! I laughed so hard that the man next to me on the bus asked me to read my book to him.

I read the passage and we laughed together.

I truly found myself within the pages of the memoir. His sister and mother along with their battle of mental health, reminded me so much of myself. It frightened me to see myself on the page; but, I continued to read.

His father reminded me of my father, except of course, his father is much, much more famous.
His brother reminded of a lot of my cousins on the east side of Detroit.
His story is my story. His family is my family. He is me?

I have been reading M K Asante since he dropped It's Bigger than Hip Hop. I was probably the first person in Michigan to buy the book. I am his biggest cheerleader.

I highly recommend everything Asante puts out.

My only hope is the Asante has the support that he needs to become the greatest of our generation. I hope that he is able to land the best agent and the best editors for his books, the best producers for his music and the best directors to be mentors as he pursues a career in film.

The only reason why I didn't give the book 5 stars is because it could have used a much, much, much stronger editor. The individual passages could have been tied together into a much stronger narrative. "Characters" that were introduced, like his sister and his father could have come to more definitive close (as opposed to disappearing). The letters from the mother could have been tied into the rest of the book a lot better.

I loved the writing. I loved Asante's life story... The finished product could have been much stronger with a bit of content editing.

No writer can do this thing alone.

I'd definitely recommend this book. Especially to young cats in Detroit. Sometimes, you just need something to relate too. Detroit can definitely relate to M. K. Asante's life story.

I'm glad I read the book. Can't wait till the next one.


Tags : Buck: A Memoir [MK Asante] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>A rebellious boy’s journey through the wilds of urban America and the shrapnel of a self-destructing family—this is the riveting story of a generation told through one dazzlingly poetic new voice.</b>   MK Asante was born in Zimbabwe to American parents: a mother who led the new nation’s dance company and a father who would soon become a revered pioneer in black studies. But things fell apart,MK Asante,Buck: A Memoir,Spiegel & Grau,0812993411,African American authors;Biography.,Philadelphia (Pa.);Biography.,1981-,African American,African American authors,Asante, Molefi K.,,Biography,Biography & Autobiography,Biography & Autobiography Personal Memoirs,Biography Autobiography,BiographyAutobiography,Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General,GENERAL,General Adult,History,Non-Fiction,Personal Memoirs,Philadelphia (Pa.),Social Science Ethnic Studies African American Studies,Social Science Sociology Urban,Sociology - Urban,United States

Buck A Memoir MK Asante 9780812993417 Books Reviews

I signed up to receive a copy of this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program, and won a copy, but for some reason I never received it. So I finally just bought the book, since it looked interesting and I love biographies. I'm glad I did.
I enjoyed hearing his mother's words, woven throughout the story like a silver thread. There are moments of sadness, disappointment, bitterness and grief. There are also moments of joy, triumph and evolving into a beautiful maturity. For every individual who manages to successfully emerge from growing up in a place like "Killadelphia" I have to wonder how many others do not. Too many, far too many. For a lot of people, this is probably a rare glimpse into the life and emotions of a young black man whose life could easily have gone down an entirely different path. I was left wondering how things turned out for some of Malo's family members; his brother, his sister and his father. Perhaps there will be a follow up?
I became amused at times when I found myself looking up unfamiliar terms, some of which (perhaps) should have been obvious, such as Kiwi polish sticks on p. 7; it didn't sink in that he was talking about shoe polish until I found it on Google. )
There are many quotes in this book. At the very beginning he cites Ovid "Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you." He has bits of song lyrics throughout the book as well. From p. 4 "I do this - spit lyrics to songs under my breath - all day, every day. The bars just jump out of me no matter where I am or what I'm doing. It's like hip-hop Tourette's."
One thing I have in common with the author is the love of reading and finding a whole new world in the discovery of books. For MK Asante it was a small leap from a passion for music, lyrics and reading to a successful, multi-faceted career. That and a group of special teachers at Crefeld school, who were able to inspire creativity in their pupils, instead of frustration and anger. Especially Stacey, who taught English lessons. She encouraged the students to write. P. 202 "I grip the pen and something shoots down my spine, sits me straight up. The pen feels heavy, like it's made of stone..... I stare deep into the blank page and see myself. I feel something I've never felt before purpose. I don't know what my exact purpose is yet, but I know it has something to do with this pen and blank page. I am a blank page."
From a mother who battled mental illness to a father who is not present at key points in this young man's life, a brother who lands in prison, friends involved in a cycle of dead end activity, friends of his brother, who is no longer present in his life....p. 25 "I walk up to the corner of 10th and Godfrey - we call it 10 Gs - where all of Uzi's [Malo's brother] boys chill. They stand where they always stand, between the liquor store and the corner store, next to the Fern Rock Apartments fence, under the train tracks, and across the street from Rock Steady, this bugged ngh who sits on a crate all day with a broken radio, rocking his head back and forth to a beat no one else can hear." By p. 169 they're still on that same corner; p. 208, still on the same corner. And so it goes for many of the young men who grew up in like circumstances, but this young man emerges triumphantly. ".....someday this pain will be useful to you."
I love the way this story comes together in the end, but you will have to read it to find out for yourself! And I love the Afterword, which is titled Much Love. Here is one line from it (p. 252) "To the voiceless whose voice I evoke through pen strokes." Read this book and find true inspiration!
Buck is this era's Black Boy by Richard Wright or Native Son by Baldwin. This memoir is just that powerful. Real, raw, and poignant, Buck lead us through the treacherous streets of Philadephia...a.k.a. Killadelphia, Pistolvania though the eyes of Malo. In this coming of age story we see Malo grapple with his identity as a black man, family issues that are taboo to speak openly about like mental illness in his family, and the sequence of events that led up to Malo's descent after his idol, his older brother Uzi, is imprisoned. We see the streets through Malo's eyes and how he has to navigate them when he is left with no other options. We also get to see Malo's redemption. Buck is a simply necessary....and a must read for all the young bucks of this era.....a masterfully woven tapestry.
M K had me at page one. Long ago, when I read this memoir for the first time, I began reading it while riding on a Detroit bus.

There is this joke at the beginning of chapter 2 where M K Asante talks with his father about pornography that had me in tears! I laughed so hard that the man next to me on the bus asked me to read my book to him.

I read the passage and we laughed together.

I truly found myself within the pages of the memoir. His sister and mother along with their battle of mental health, reminded me so much of myself. It frightened me to see myself on the page; but, I continued to read.

His father reminded me of my father, except of course, his father is much, much more famous.
His brother reminded of a lot of my cousins on the east side of Detroit.
His story is my story. His family is my family. He is me?

I have been reading M K Asante since he dropped It's Bigger than Hip Hop. I was probably the first person in Michigan to buy the book. I am his biggest cheerleader.

I highly recommend everything Asante puts out.

My only hope is the Asante has the support that he needs to become the greatest of our generation. I hope that he is able to land the best agent and the best editors for his books, the best producers for his music and the best directors to be mentors as he pursues a career in film.

The only reason why I didn't give the book 5 stars is because it could have used a much, much, much stronger editor. The individual passages could have been tied together into a much stronger narrative. "Characters" that were introduced, like his sister and his father could have come to more definitive close (as opposed to disappearing). The letters from the mother could have been tied into the rest of the book a lot better.

I loved the writing. I loved Asante's life story... The finished product could have been much stronger with a bit of content editing.

No writer can do this thing alone.

I'd definitely recommend this book. Especially to young cats in Detroit. Sometimes, you just need something to relate too. Detroit can definitely relate to M. K. Asante's life story.

I'm glad I read the book. Can't wait till the next one.