Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain

The Awakening--thus far:
I must admit that I vacillated between sorrow and anger for Lori. She seemed to have such a hard time identifying with her Blackness and I didn't realize young Black people struggled with this identity crisis while coming of age in the '80's. Having lived through the turmoil of the '50's and '60's, I assumed that people of African descent living in America were Black and Proud. I'm happy that Lori is finally appreciating the blessing of being born Black, one manifestation of the Source of all of us. Now she will be able to impart to her children and others that on a spiritual plane, all of us share the same Source even though the multitude fails to realize that the breath of life, the air that sustains us all is the same. Many will go through life not realizing this simple fact and will continue to erect barriers/walls to separate us. Her memoir is a gratifying read and many will enjoy her awakening.

Simply OK... in the beginning anyway:
I bought and read this book as part of a bookclub selection. The first 60 pages were good almost even interesting then it went downhill from there! She was a complete Drama Queen and sort of an Elitist. If I was really interested in a history lesson (like the one you'll get reading this book) I would have grabbed a history book instead and not spend 15 bucks on this. So all in all it was good in the beginning then quite a torture to finish.

I Meant to Give This Book Three Stars:
I was a little hestitant about reading the book because of Wild Orchard's review, but the book turned out better than I expected. I actually thought the history portion was the best part of the book. I think Ms. Tharp may have learned( and the above Nigerian reviewer should make an effort to learn)that speaking "proper" English is not rare among blacks, nor is listening to opera, and reading definitely isn't rare within the African-American community. And that is the missing element of the book...What changed Ms. Tharp's prospective of blacks? The book is missing her New York years which awakened her pride in herself. She gives us a sneak peek, but only to show how much Manual, her Spanish love, meant to her. My biggest problem was trying to figure out what audience this book is geared towards, adults or teens. There seems to be too much innocence in this book to have been written by a married 30-something with two children. It doesn't have to be rauchy, but it's just a little too chaste. I got the impression that it was written by a late teen rather than an adult. I bought this book because I wanted to live in Spain for a year. However, I've been hestitant due to it's history in the kidnapping and enslavement of Africans in the Americas. Then there were the incidents with Spain's Olympic basketball team's mocking of Chinese people, and the treatment of black fútbol players by Spanards which haven't encouraged me to want to assist in Spain's economy. So, I was eager to read this book because I really wanted to get a prospective from a black person. I cant' say that the book enligthened me on the Spaniards. First the author was a student, and then a member of an extended family. She didn't really write about going on excursions alone, except to and from school or to acquaintances' homes. So, I don't get a true sense of what the average tourist may encounter. However, I do have to say the sites in Cadiz interested me. So, I may end up going for a vacation, but if so, only to the South of Spain. ***Unfortunately we can't change the rating once it's entered. I meant to rate this as THREE STARS. I really don't have anyone I would recommend read this book. It definitely shouldn't be a hardback book. This book is only good to use in an African-American Studies course to study the various way a racist society shapes self-image.

Great read:
I found the author's journey entertaining, but also thought provoking. She brings up difficult issues, but in a light hearted way that is accessible to readers of any background.

A Great Read:
This is just an excellent book. I travel a lot and people always seem to be surprised to see a black woman abroad. So it was very gratifying to read a travel memoir from a black woman writer. She's really honest and for that reason sometimes you like her and sometimes you don't. Her struggle with sex, love and race is filled with a fair amount of self denial and self realization. However it's a real struggle that many of us go through, but it's rarely explored through the prism of travel. I highly recommend this book.