Book Cover ~ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I read this back in January/February and never wrote a review. Why? I couldn’t tell you. I really did enjoy this book – the contrast between the quiet, pious, traditional life in a small city of the South with her grandmother and the exciting, fast-paced, violent one of the West Coast. The hardships of a life truly lived, the reflections on lesson learnt the hard way, the too real suffering of events so hard to write about. The honesty.

I find autobiographies truly admirable and brave because of their honesty. Perhaps it scares me. Because I find it so hard myself to uncover aspects of my own being – especially via such a public, faceless medium as a blog or a book. This might be why I never wrote about this very good book. Because it felt too personal – she was writing it to me, and it is not my place to repeat what she wrote. You’ll just have to read it for yourselves.

And you should read it.

So I will focus on the cover. I like its cover, deceptively innocent and happy in deep blue with flowers in the background  – and the words hanging like notes would in the air. And yet the title is so sad. And so beautiful.

Would I read the sequels? Maybe. Probably. But not now. Not yet. She is such a great lady that I feel it’d be interesting to learn about her relationship with her son and what she taught him. She is certainly someone I could learn a thing or two from.

If you still doubt this, go and listen to this beautiful, inspirational speech she gave in front of a bunch of very lucky students, some years ago.