About this title: From the iconic and charismatic star of "Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam" comes this brave and fiercely candid memoir about growing up in Jamaica by performer, activist, and writer Chin.
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009-04-14
ISBN-13:9780743292900ISBN:0743292901
Description: Very Good. This is a paperback with same cover and publisher stickers. This book is the same isbn, but is a paperback. Save some $$$. Perfectly Good Reading Copy. Shelfwear from storage in box with other books. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009-04-14
ISBN-13:9780743292900ISBN:0743292901
Description: Very Good. Clean unmarked pages. Clean unmarked cover. Has Dust Jacket. 100% satisfaction guaranteed. SAVE Money on S and Handling, buy more than one book from us as a time! Items are from a smoke free and air conditioned environment. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780743292900ISBN:0743292901
Description: New in new dust jacket. New copy from a smoke free environment. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 278 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009-04-14
ISBN-13:9780743292900ISBN:0743292901
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780743292900. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780743292900ISBN:0743292901
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: Satisfaction Guaranteed. Shipped quickly. 2009. Hardcover. Used, very good. Very good overall with light to moderate wear. No dust jacket. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009-04-14
ISBN-13:9780743292900ISBN:0743292901
Description: Like New. NEVER OWNED OR READ! LIKE NEW! MAY HAVE A PUBLISHERS REMAINDER MARK! NEW CONDITION OTHER THAN PUBLISHERS REMAINDER MARK! read more
Binding: Hardback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780743292900ISBN:0743292901
Description: New. From the iconic and charismatic star of "Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam" comes this brave and fiercely candid memoir about growing up in Jamaica by performer, activist, and writer Chin. read more
"It was quite terrible what Staceyann had to go through. While it did set up the story, I wished it had been a little quicker. I was more interested in how she became a lesbian, which is what the book was leading up to. It was a good book, but I was hoping for a bit more development between the last chapter and the epilogue."
"The Other Side of Paradise written by Staceyann Chin is startling in its clarity, fresh in its narration and the writing is as bold as the young poet, writer, lesbian activist is daily in her tweets or one of her performances. TOSoP is about a young girl who refused to be quiet. She came into the world unexpectedly with lungs much bigger than her premature body should have had.
What I love most about The Other Side of Paradise is the writer's voice, specifically Staceyann the child's voice. The voice is authentic. You can't manufacture this. Some would say the child's voice is audacious, and it is. In a culture where it is trendy to create in-your-face work, The Other Side of Paradise doesn't have to scream at you to captivate you. Young Staceyann not knowing how dangerous it is to speak her mind honestly makes you cringe and want to hush the child before she says one more thing that earns her a scolding, a smack and rejection. It's the cruel reality of being innocent and vulnerable that wallops you upside the head.
This memoir plays out like a daring Indi film. The footage looks like it's unedited but the rendering is so flawless, you know it's a carefully crafted work of a real writer. While we get Staceyann as-is there is nothing clumsy or awkward here. This work isn't burdened with analysis nor is it a sanitized, hindsight-laden trope. Instead we come to know Chin through reliving her experiences and digesting choice reflections of what those experiences mean. Staceyann the child suffers abuse, neglect, abandonment and rejection but she doesn't carry her victimization around like a child's tattered blanket. She calls it what it is and does what she can rid herself of it so she can get on with becoming the woman she wants to be.
There are many poignant episodes in this memoir. In all of them, I was so vested that often I was having an internal dialogue with Staceyann: Oh, no, Staceyann, no, not this time. Don't answer. Don't tell the truth. Be quiet. Instead of pandering, Chin gives us relief when we need it with organic episodes that say even when life is ugly we find some joy. When the young girl discovers she can pleasure herself, I laughed and ached with her. When her aunt scolds her, when she tells Staceyann that her life is her own fault, and it is Staceyann's responsibility to avoid being hurt by others, I relived the sting of being shamed and the isolation of knowing there is no one you can cry out to, to protect you, and I know many women who figuratively know the desperation of wrapping yourself tightly in a filthy, disgusting sheet. Ms. Chin's memoir is a testament that while we may been violated, we do not have to remain victims. We can fight back and win.
I knew little about Ms. Chin's work or her before reading The Other Side of Paradise. What I discovered was a child I did know. I am glad I took the time to listen, to listen to the child who grew, who dared to not be quiet and who later became the woman who was audacious enough to tell her story. Ms. Chin's memoir is impressive, provocative, brilliant writing. It is an unflinching look at the other side of Paradise."
"this memoir is a well written, inside look at the jamaica that no one visits...you really feel as if you are in these places and, sometimes, you are scared because of that. the end speeds up rather quickly, which is sad, but, overall, a good read."
"This book was so compelling. I was very moved by her story, especially as a child. She easily conveyed the feelings of a young girl who never felt loved. The book left me wondering about many of the people in her life. I docked a star because I wasn't crazy about the ending. It just didn't seem to match the first 3/4 of the book. Chin was so detailed and descriptive about her childhood years, but seemed to rush through the college and post years. Otherwise, a really good read."
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