Título: Heavy: An American Memoir
Autor: Kiese Laymon
Sinopse: *Named a Best Book of 2018 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*
*WINNER of the Andrew Carnegie Medal and FINALIST for the Kirkus Prize *
In this powerful and provocative memoir, genre-bending essayist and novelist Kiese Laymon explores what the weight of a lifetime of secrets, lies, and deception does to a black body, a black family, and a nation teetering on the brink of moral collapse.
Kiese Laymon is a fearless writer. In his essays, personal stories combine with piercing intellect to reflect both on the state of American society and on his experiences with abuse, which conjure conflicted feelings of shame, joy, confusion and humiliation. Laymon invites us to consider the consequences of growing up in a nation wholly obsessed with progress yet wholly disinterested in the messy work of reckoning with where we’ve been.
In Heavy, Laymon writes eloquently and honestly about growing up a hard-headed black son to a complicated and brilliant black mother in Jackson, Mississippi. From his early experiences of sexual violence, to his suspension from college, to his trek to New York as a young college professor, Laymon charts his complex relationship with his mother, grandmother, anorexia, obesity, sex, writing, and ultimately gambling. By attempting to name secrets and lies he and his mother spent a lifetime avoiding, Laymon asks himself, his mother, his nation, and us to confront the terrifying possibility that few in this nation actually know how to responsibly love, and even fewer want to live under the weight of actually becoming free.
A personal narrative that illuminates national failures, Heavy is defiant yet vulnerable, an insightful, often comical exploration of weight, identity, art, friendship, and family that begins with a confusing childhood—and continues through twenty-five years of haunting implosions and long reverberations.
Contexto da obra
Como livro em inglês, esta obra costuma ganhar também uma camada própria de interesse editorial e linguístico. “Heavy: An American Memoir”, de Kiese Laymon, publicado pela editora Scribner, em 2018 e com 256 páginas, integra a categoria Livros em Inglês. Por isso, o interesse da obra tende a se ampliar quando o leitor considera também a relação com a língua em que ela circula.
Editora: Scribner
Páginas: 256
Ano: 2018-10-16
Edição: First Edition
Linguagem: en
ISBN: 1501125656
ISBN13: 9781501125652
Sobre a editora
Os livros da editora Scribner costumam oferecer uma experiência de leitura marcada por narrativas densas e multifacetadas, que transitam entre histórias pessoais intensas e análises históricas detalhadas. As sinopses sugerem um interesse editorial por temas que exploram conflitos humanos profundos, como a luta pela sobrevivência, o impacto da memória, e as complexidades do poder, muitas vezes ambientados em cenários realistas e contemporâneos ou em contextos históricos ricos. O tom varia entre o dramático e o reflexivo, com ritmo que ora se acelera em thrillers e espionagem, ora desacelera em relatos intimistas e ensaios que convidam à reflexão.
