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There are currently 34 member reviews
for Something Like Beautiful
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gj (Martinsburg WV)
something like beautiful
This is a poignant memoir of a woman who discovers everything she needs to survive loneliness, abuse and depression can be found in the presence of her daughter, Nisa, whom she raises by herself.
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Sue (Brookfield WI)
Interesting Memoir
The author and poet Asha Bundele, has a definite gift for the English language. Unfortunately, she becomes repetitive throughout much of the book. She gave me an understanding of how someone could be married and conceive a child to someone in prison. While working through her problems, her daughter helps her rediscover the beauty of life.
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Michelle Cinncinnati, OH (Cincinnati OH)
A Mother's Memoir
This memoir grabbed my attention from the very first page. I read the book in one sitting. The reader experiences the author's memories of her husband, her daughter and herself through a very strong and focused emotional lens. I think what pulled me to finish the book in one sitting is I wanted to know the "why" of her choices: loving a man in prison and having a child together. I am not sure if I really have "the answer," but I think Asha does a good job with holding the reader's attention. Plus, I now have her first memoir, The Prisoner's Wife on my reading list.
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Ruth Harris (Tyrone GA)
Something Like Beautiful
One Single Mother's Story is Asha Bandele's memoir dealing with motherhood.
She fell in love and married a prisoner serving a 20 to life sentence. A memoir ensued.
She got pregnant and had a beautiful baby girl. Another memoir.
Asha is adopted and has issues with her birth mother; I imagine a memoir dealing with her search for her birth mother might be next.
This book is well written and has some lovely thoughts beautifully expressed but at the end of the story I felt I'd been a fly on the wall during a very long therapy session.
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Velma (Jacksonville TX)
An Urban Tale
I finished Something Like Beautiful by Asha Bandele today. At first I was not fond of her sing-song style of writing, but then she is a poet by profession first. I knew that this was to be a single mother's story, but I wasn't prepared for the raw, gut wrenching tale that Ms. Bandele wrote. She pulls no punches and it reads like a personal diary. I didn't always like or agree with the things that she did and said, but there is an honesty that shines through and makes it a very worthwhile read. I do admire the courage she exhibited both in her life and in writing this book.
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Christine (Plainfield IN)
Endurance
This book was difficult for me to get into - at first. Asha Bandele writes her memoir in stream of consciousness. Sentences ramble (some have 79+ words), and I'm not sure why some things become separated paragraphs. Having said that, I got used to it.
I've not ever read a book where feelings and emotions were always present. I could understand her pain, depression, coming to grips, her profound love for her daughter, her losses and her endurance of life. She continues throughout to open herself up to her work in progress.
In the end, I felt connection.
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Robin (Tucson AZ)
Something Like Beautiful
When I started this book, it seemed to be about choices and hopefulness, with an innocence about it. However, by the time I was to the middle, I stopped feeling sorry for the writer. I was distressed by the events in her life and what seemed to be her poor decision making skills. This woman is clearly intelligent, but how she choses to live her life was frustrating to read about. She obviously loves her child and very much wanted a family, but I found the book to be very sad. Asha is so gifted that I wanted more for her.
