How to Say Babylon

A Memoir

De: Safiya Sinclair

Narrado por: Safiya Sinclair

National Book Critics Circle Award Winner
A New York Times Notable Book
Best Book of the Year for The Washington Post* The New Yorker * Time * The Atlantic * Los Angeles Times * NPR * Harper’s Bazaar * Vulture * Town & Country * San Francisco Chronicle * Christian Science Monitor * Mother Jones * Barack Obama
A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick

“Impossible to put down...Each lyrical line sings and soars, freeing the reader as it did the writer.” —People

With echoes of Educated and The Glass Castle, How to Say Babylon is a “lushly observed and keenly reflective chronicle” (The Washington Post), brilliantly recounting the author’s struggle to break free of her rigid religious upbringing and navigate the world on her own terms.

Throughout her childhood, Safiya Sinclair’s father, a volatile reggae musician and a militant adherent to a strict sect of Rastafari, was obsessed with the ever-present threat of the corrupting evils of the Western world outside their home, and worried that womanhood would make Safiya and her sisters morally weak and impure. For him, a woman’s highest virtue was her obedience.

Safiya’s extraordinary mother, though loyal to her father, gave her the one gift she knew would take Safiya beyond the stretch of beach and mountains in Jamaica their family called home: a world of books, knowledge, and education she conjured almost out of thin air. When she introduced Safiya to poetry, Safiya’s voice awakened. As she watched her mother struggle voicelessly for years under relentless domesticity, Safiya’s rebellion against her father’s rules set her on an inevitable collision course with him. Her education became the sharp tool to hone her own poetic voice and carve her path to liberation. Rich in emotion and page-turning drama, How to Say Babylon is “a melodious wave of memories” of a woman finding her own power (NPR).

©2022 Safiya Sinclair (P)2022 Simon & Schuster Audio

Incredible story

The poetic nature of the author’s writing is amazing. I loved hearing her read her own words. She was so animated and the way she acted out each character painted such an incredible picture.

Powerful and gut-wrenching

I wasn’t sure what to expect in listening to this book. I just purchased on a whim because it sounded interesting and as a person of Caribbean heritage I thought I knew a little something about Rastafarianism. Like many people the little I know was told to me through old reggae songs and artists and I quickly realized that I never really knew any Rastafarians and most certainly never knew anything from the perspective of a woman or a young girl. While I know Sinclair’s memoir is about her own personal journey how powerful for her to share that experience. The book is vivid and haunting and moved me to tears at some points. I thank the author and her family for providing us with open access to her most vulnerable self. I will no doubt listen to this book again.

I will miss Safiya now that I’ve finished the book.

I am a writer and I love the island of Jamaica so this story appealed to me on many levels. A heartfelt memoir about a girl growing up in a fascinating Rastafarian family, both brilliant and brutal. Her struggles and successes were beautifully described in poetic language, as she is a poet. Sinclair’s performance is lovely to listen to and I feel like she’s almost a friend, along with her amazing siblings and her mother. Loved every minute.

A beautiful story

Thank you so much for such a beautiful told story. As a fellow Jamiacan who spent her early years in her own religious cocoon sheltered from much of the world I connected with your early life. Thank you for bringing light to our likkle island home. I'm so glad you were able to find that safe space to write this story. And your poetry throughout the book was so visually pleasing.

The lyricism of her words

Extraordinary book & narration. Only Safiya could have narrated this book. She is a poet above all else!

Wow!

A genius portrayal of oneself! One of the best memoirs I’ve read. Safiya is a master poet that captures you and holds you to the very end! Amazing!

A Once In A Lifetime Book

Listening to How to Say Babylon is liquid poetry- a story so beautifully told the prose transforms suffering to song. Along with Sinclair’s personal story comes a tribute to strong women and an honest stepping into the lives of a people unshackling themselves from colonial subjugation. Expanding. Unforgettable.

WHAT A BOOK !!

The story is captivating and I learnt SO much that I, as a Jamaican didn’t know about the Rastafarian movement . Safiya is an enchanting storyteller . I SOOOOO thoroughly enjoyed it !! A must read as a woman and as a Jamaican!!

Profound memoir that lifts up the story of a lionheart

The memoir moved me to compassion, frustration, anger and empathy. Thank you for sharing the memoir in your time.

I will never think of Bob Marley the same way . .

I have been a big reggae fan since college (decades ago) but I knew nothing about Rastafarianism. Nothing. Who knew, that like all religions, there is a patriarchy - and boy, can it be toxic and dangerous. Safiya's story is beautifully told, poetically told - because after all, the woman is an esteemed poet. It was a captivating listen and the author performed her novel in a lyrical style that lifted you up in many sections, and crushed you for all she went through in her life. I am so glad she chose to narrate her own work. Highly recommend this book.
If I have one small criticism, I think it would be that some sections, though wonderful writing, could have been cut. Just in a few places, the narrative dragged for the sake of the saving a perfectly composed passage.