Alex WheatleAnmeldelser

With a plot that keeps you interested and engaged, this book is a great read for almost anyone!

Sufferah: The Memoir of a Brixton Reggae-Head by Alex Wheatle is a great read.
Wheatle shared how his traumatic childhood followed him into adulthood and courageously bared great emotional anguish. He effectively expressed his love for reggae and how it was his unwavering companion. Along with weed.
Throughout the book, Wheatle mentioned specific moments that were inspiration for events or characters in his other novels. At first, I was annoyed with it, feeling like they were shameless plugs. But, once I got out of my own head, I realized how smart it was. Not only did it introduce me to more of his writing, but I would have felt deceived if when reading one of those novels I thought “wait. This all seems a little too familiar.”.
Wheatle had friends that cared deeply for him, and helped him recognize his skill with words. He is an impressive man and deserving of reverance. He has achieved great things on his own merit, without a support system to speak of.
My appreciation to Alex Wheatle and Akashic Books for the LibraryThing Giveaways printed copy.

I won this book in exchange for my review. So it was different, not gonna lie don't really care for this is my life stories. But that's ok.

Very good read!!!

Sufferah, by Alex Wheatle, is a very interesting memoir by a British/Jamaican author who deserves to be better known by American readers. Alex was born in 1963 in London of Jamaican parents, but as a very young child was placed in the care of British social services. He grew up in a variety of orphanages and group homes, and as a child never learned much about his parents or other relatives. He came to love Reggae music, a form of music native to Jamaica, and as he aged Alex went from being a lifelong fan to becoming a well-known producer and performer of Reggae in Great Britain. He also eventually became a successful, best-selling , award winning author of both adult and children's books, many of which focus on stories which take place in both England and/or the Caribbean. The book focuses on his life in London, particularly in the Brixton area, his experiences with poverty, racism, and eventual success, as well as his life-long search for his parents and other relatives. This book requires a little work on the part of readers unfamiliar with British/Jamaican culture and the importance of Reggae music to that culture. Also, although are several references to friends and other acquaintances who eventually became characters in his many works of fiction, there is very little information on Alex's higher education and development as an author. This is an excellent memoir about a man and a culture which should be better known to a wide audience. Recommended!

½

Not many can escape the clutches of pain and depression but despite his early childhood trauma, Alex Wheatle found his love for reggae music helped him escape that world. Wonderfully written and inspiring.

Sufferah by Alex Wheatle is a book after my own heart as i love love love reggae music. Reggae music was a way for Alex to literally get away from the perils of life. Daily strife from parents such as "clean your room" or "do your homework" were far from what Alex face. As a participant of the foster system since shortly after birth, he relied on reggae early to escape from the hell that would rob him of his childhood and early adulthood. If you are not a reggae fan, get a pen and scrap paper. There's a lesson in music to be had. Mr. Wheatle, colorful vernacular and all, gives us a view into his struggle and triumph, soundtrack included.

Alex Wheatle is a writer who is able to express his emotions clearly. Though out his struggles he declared his feelings and let the reader know that music was the driving force that defined him as a person. With this tool and a strong belief in himself, he overcame abuse, incarceration, and life on the streets. I would definetly recommend this book and I am going to find some of his other books to read as well.

Absolutely loved the voice of this author; so immersive and descriptive. I'm normally not the biggest fan of memoirs, they can often be too dry or feel over exaggerated. This one definitely isn't. Very interesting, realistic, and well written!

The author Alex Wheatle tells the story of his tragic childhood. Sent into care he faced abuse, than the bigotry. The one thing that gave him meaning was reggae music. He uses reggae lyrics and slang. Reggae lover's will appreciate this book.

A captivating look at the troubled and gut-wrenching early life of Alex Wheatle. With an unfiltered honesty, he tells us about his brutal childhood: abandoned as a baby, suffering mental, emotional, and sexual abuse as a child, and the desperation of loneliness and longing for family. Reggae helped him through it all.

I will admit I had not heard of this author before, but I will without a doubt check out his other works. He has placed himself as an award winning author and storyteller. His writing is filled with emotion and his words have a connection to the overall story which will certainly resonate with those that need uplifting.

As a successful, published author with a loving wife and kids, he has come through a dark tunnel to shine in the light where most of would have easily succumbed to the depths of despair. Sufferah: The Memoir of a Brixton Reggae-Head certainly opened my eyes. I just want to give him a hug.

Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers, Akashic Books, and Alex Wheatle for this Arc.

Throughout "Sufferah," the reader is constantly wondering what Alex Wheatle's life would have been like if he had grown up in Jamaica rather than England. His life had an unusual beginning. His mother, who was married, had a baby - Alex - with another man. She left England to go back to Jamaica and the baby's father took him in. After a while, he was no longer able to care for the boy who then became involved with the British social services system. Evidently the biological father wanted to send Alex back to Jamaica to live with his parents, but social services convinced him that the boy would have a better life in England. Alex was then turned over to social services to live in a small orphanage-like place run by an angry housemother. Alex was a smart kid, curious, but also lonely with no family and no knowledge of one. Also, angry a great deal of the time mostly for the same reasons: loneliness and lack of family. As he grew up, Alex became more and more rebellious, but also calmed himself with reggae music, perhaps the same thing he might have turned to if he had lived in Jamaica. His whole life began to turn around the sound of reggae. He was locked into "the system" and dependent upon it for money and housing. He eventually started picking up part-time jobs, spent some time in prison, and was mentored by an older Rasta. Somehow, Alex managed to marry, have children, and write books. He eventually connected with his biological father. The memoir is sharp and very real, but at the end it feels incomplete as Alex's family search was not completed by the time this memoir was published. Even though Alex Wheatle seems like a success story, there are still missing pieces in his life.½

-ARC provided by Akashic Books and LibraryThing.-

Wheatle's voice in "Sufferah" is conversational, even friendly, and utterly candid. Reading this is very much like hearing a charming new acquaintance tell stories over a pint, bouncing from personal anecdote to historical account to musical fan-boy chatter; if it seems too quick to dive deeply into motivations or setting, Wheatle's delivery is eminently clear and accessible. The brusque telling, however, leaves me wanting to know more about _him_: what he did other than get hurt and dig reggae as a youth, what else influenced him, how he navigated the UK cultural landscape of his early years. And as the book goes on, I really am left unclear on what steps he took to become the writer he is and what he did while he worked under the stage name 'Brixtonbard.'

There is a major roadblock in this book for me, as a reader, and it has to do with my ignorance of a thing and his implicit assumption that any reader can follow along with him. Surprisingly, this block has nothing to do with my being white; it's that I have never lived in London. Throughout, Wheatle drops street names, district names, town names, and landmarks as if they're givens; I have no idea where these are, how far apart, how oriented, or why they are significant. Brixton is well enough known as an Afro-Caribbean enclave of South London, but my inner map ends there, so I'm lost throughout. Pity. I can look up the occasional Jamaican food item, slang term (the title itself, for instance, sent me to Google right off), but there really is no solid sense of setting, location, or context for me, an American.

It helped that I know much more reggae than most Americans, so I get the grooves Wheatle references, but one could wish this book came with a soundtrack: not only would that be wicked, but it would be a primer to readers otherwise fresh to the genre.

I guess my point is that Wheatle has, knowingly or not, very much addressed this memoir to a specific audience, one that knows his jargon, knows London, is deeply familiar with reggae, and one that can associate with his personal demons. On a deeper level, his growth has a universal, heroic arc to it that Joseph Campbell would see immediately, but there are many elements that aren't really given the descriptions warranted to speak to a wider audience. I may have rated this lower, but Wheatle has outgrown his darkness to a degree that his writing makes me hope to bump into him one day and chat him up and ask him directly the questions this memoir left me with.

Sufferah: The Memoir of a Brixton Reggae-Head is more than a memoir, it's a love story in which the author describes his relationship with the musical genre of Reggae. The author recounts tales of his troubled youth and how his connection to Reggae music got him through the many tribulations he faced. Overall, the book was well written and easy to read. This book gives insight into what living in London in the 60s and 70s as a young Black man looked like for he author and, perhaps, many others. Although this book does not embody something I would normally read, I am glad that I did read it, and I will recommend it to others.

YA short novel about Tacky's Revolt, a slave uprising on the island of Jamaica, against the British plantation owners in the 1760s. A very important book, excellently portrayed through the eyes of 14 yr old sugar cane slave, turned warrior, Moa. It's brutal, it's thought provoking and, with its dialect, not easy to read but I can see it making its way onto school curriculums and as class reads very soon. Probably best read with guidance to help with the language and themes. I don't think 14 yr old me would have picked this up as a casual read but it's an excellent book for study and adult me thought it was outstanding.

Welton Blake has just asked the girl he liked to go out with him to the movies and has her number in his phone. Things are looking up and then...he has the worst day in his life! His phone dies completely, he throws up at school on a girl sitting in front of him, he spies the girl he likes kissing another boy, he twists his ankle, and his mother announces that her boyfriend is moving in with his brat of a son into their tiny flat and Welton will have to share a room with him. Can it get any worse?
Well yes, it can, when he runs into a brick wall playing basketball but that's the next day...

Printed on sepia paper, this is part of the super-readable Barrington Stoke Teen readers. Not bad but a bit too many Star Wars references in the way Welton speaks and thinks.

I requested and received this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers, and was under the impression that it was suitable for middle grades, including 12, 13, 14, and 15 year olds. I was woefully wrong! This book started out with a violent and descriptive rape that had my 14 year old daughter completely shocked and appalled, as well as myself. Needless to say we immediately put it down and will not be reading it.

I got this book free from LibraryThing in the Early Reviewer's section. I was interested in a non-conventional story.

This is a story about a slave that runs away, is granted freedom, and becomes a strong woman. There are some difficult or even unnecessary parts to the story but overall it was good and worth the read.

Spoiler Alert!!! Avert eyes if concerned...

If this was truly a young adult book - I think the lesbianism was unnecessary.

I found the attempt at speaking as a Jamacian and the extensive spanish (and whatever else was used) was unnecessary, did not add to the story, and was a distraction.

This was an interesting book about a young slave girl who wins her freedom. Kemosha is always looking to better herself and is very ambitious. My favorite part of the book was when she was sailing on the pirate ship. A look at life during the 1600's that was so different than my own. I found the ending a bit abrupt and wanted to follow Kemosha on her journey for a while longer.

This book is aimed towards middle grade readers and up. The writing seemed pretty simplistic but it is for a younger audience. My main complaint with the book was all of Kemosha's dialogue was written in some sort of dialect. It made it hard to read as I had to translate in my head to get her meaning. Also, Kemosha makes some questionable decisions through out the book, even though things seem to work out for her.

I received a free copy from Library Thing Early Reviewer's program in exchange for my honest review.

Both joyful and heartbreaking, this is a powerful story of childhood lost to war. Worth reading, although not for the faint of heart. The author does a fine job of bringing this world and events to light, and teaching the reader about this part of the world.

De blood remembers. I will also remember this true story of Tacky's War in Jamaica in 1760. The story is told through Moa Umbasa, the youngest cane warrior. He describes his fears, his battles, his emotions, with emotion and without apology. The battles are brutal and graphic, and these warriors fought and faced their own deaths with dignity and pride. As Tacky said, "Better to die for something than dead becah you body mash up in service to de slavemaster." Indeed. An excellent story

This book, about a fourteen-year-old white girl who is placed with a black foster family, had a blurb that caught my attention right off the bat, and I was really excited to read about race relations, about the failure of the system, etc.

But I'm sad to say that I didn't connect with this book at all. The first thing that I really didn't click with is just Naomi herself. She used a lot of unusual slang and a lot of her dialogue was just roundabout and random — it was annoying and didn't seem to feel realistic for her age. I kept thinking she was ten, rather than fourteen, with the maturity of her comments.

Other than that, there really doesn't feel like there's much of an overarching plot here. It's more of slice-of-life type of story; I don't have anything against that in itself, but that style combined with the lack of a relatable character with good growth didn't work out too well for me, and it also meant that any social commentary wasn't delivered effectively.

This was so easy to read despite the heavy subject matter, and each page is gripping with tension and conflict. I generally shy away from slave narratives, fictional or nonfictional, because I have to be in the right headspace to read about the horrors of enslavement and black people suffering. I’m quite familiar with North-American chattel slavery, but this is my first time learning about some West Indian/Caribbean enslavement. It’s always so interesting how we hear so little about slave rebellions and uprisings.

Anyway, this was a great read! The brotherhood between Keverton and Moa and the loveliness of Hamaya broke my heart.
5/5

This middle-grade/young adult book is not for the faint of heart. It is bloody, violent and ruthless. In contrast to these brutal events, Wheatle writes lyrically and with nuance. Cane Warriors centers the voice of the enslaved rather than white abolitionists. In this way, readers face the reality of enslaved people who fought for their own freedom.

The narrative of this book is written in standard English and the dialog is written using a Jamaican patois. This may cause some young readers a slow start, but they will acclimate to it. In fact, the dialect helps to immerse the reader. A similar experience can be had with Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston.

The Author’s Note details how the government of the United Kingdom pledged a huge sum to cover reparations for enslavers, however no provisions were made for the people who had been enslaved. While this book lays bare the British Empire’s “brutal and unforgiving” role in the slave trade, the responsibility is borderless. Europe, Africa and America all shoulder responsibility, which underscores a major message of the book; “Nobody free til everybody free” (p. 88 and back jacket).

Wheatle lives in South London. His mother grew up in Richmond, St. Mary, Jamaica, nearby the plantations where the revolt took place. He used the stories of her childhood and what historical accuracies he could, then built a narrative that pays homage to freedom fighters in Jamaica and around the world. As he wrote, he took inspiration from musicians including Bob Marley, Burning Speak, The Twinkle Brothers, Gregory Isaacs and other reggae musicians.

The the full, official review on the Worlds of Words website: https://wowlit.org/blog/2021/01/01/wow-recommends-cane-warriors/

Fourteen year old slave boy Mao is asked to be a participant in the 1760 Jamaican slave rebellion which came to be known as Tacky’s war. He longs to be a man and to protect his people including his good friend, an eleven year old girl who fears to be taken any evening now by one of the white men.

Mao also fears what is ahead.

I found this to be an amazing story which I had trouble putting down and read almost straight through.

Wheatle created an unforgettable, well-realized character with Mao. The story is wonderfully told with historical facts, legends and word-of-mouth knit tightly together.

My only reservation about recommending this book is that the dialogue is written in patois, which might make it a challenge for a younger reader. At times, I read the dialogue outloud which helped immensely.

I think this will probably be one of my favorite YA reads of 2021.½