Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood

I had never read anything by bell hooks, and this memoir of her early childhood is a fine launching place. She and I are the same age but hardly from the same circumstances. bell grew up as one of many children in a household with hard-working but abusive parents. As a result of her vivid imagination and give-no-fucks attitude, she was isolated and resented by her family and always yearned for her mother's approval but would not, could not, toe the line. The memoir is made up of brief chapters of recollection, flooded with exploding feelings and with a jaded awareness that she would be a singular sensation through her life. She befriends odd ducks like herself and considers that she is saved by books. The cover image, of a tiny girl in show more a dainty white pinafore dress, looking stubborn even at a young age, rends the heart and makes you yearn to have known her.

Quotes: "Only grownups think that the things children say come out of nowhere."

"I cannot stand all the secret places I have had to make inside myself." show less

There’s so much the eyes of a child see that adults tend not to notice.

The memoir is mainly told in the third person. Very rarely is "I" used here. It creates a bit of distance between hook and her younger self. It's less about her and more about the exploration of girlhood or relevant things of that period that could connect with readers. hook's thoughts on marriage are very clear when you see how she came to those conclusions/her observations.

A running theme is the color of black (technically, we know it's not a color, but you get the idea). hooks always saw it as beautiful, but it was enforced to be a woman's color only; it was tied to maturity or mourning, not for young girls.

hook’s youth seemed very restrictive with her show more feeling out of place and constantly reprimanded for her outspokenness and questioning of gender roles. She has some nice lines here, and I wish I had learned of her work earlier. show less

I loved this book! I am a huge bell hooks fan but this was the first of her books that I have read that was specifically about her life. I enjoyed the way the book was written and I identified with her struggle.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is/was a girl or personally knows one. I think that this book gives some insight into how Black women are taught to define themselves and how sometimes that definition makes you an outsider within your own community.

"With the emotion of poetry, the narrative of a novel, and truth of experience, bell hooks weaves a girlhood memoir you won't be able to put down -- or forget. Bone Black takes us into the cave of self-creation." - Gloria Steinem