Customer Reviews
Tragic and Numbing - By: Paul, 07 Feb 2003 
I finished reading this powerful book about an hour ago. The main impression I had was a great sense of sadness for a hopeful & innocent life that had been gradually destroyed. He was used & abused by alomst everybodyin his life except for his papa, sister Carol, Injun & Dorcas his "girlfriend." Continually through the book you see that all the decent & kind people have their lives suddenly endedin horrific acts of violence dressed up as love, revenge, necessity (him or me) or just carelessness for the consequences of their actions. These acts were often perpetrated by their friends or family.
Otis (the main character) is a good person who cannot justify this senseless cruelty because of a persons colour or background or job & so extends a Samaritan like hand to those who would not have done the same for him. In this way the book manages to remain,in all its horror, optimistic about the nature of a kind soulin a world of suffering right until the very last word. Unfortunately there is an epilogue that absolutely shattered me.
On top of all the misery & loss that he observed - he always seemed to be an observerin his life - Otis also had to come to terms with his sexuality at a time when he was regarded by others, & himself, as a freak of nature. He often wonders why he is unable to perform for the woman he thinks he loves & puts it down to a powerful (wrongly called schizophrenic on the sleeve) character inside himself called Sally. He thinks that if he can only have sex with a woman without having to think about it then he will be a man & life will get better. This provides a stark reminder of just how alienated & frightening the world was for people like Otis who just could not even begin to comprehend that they are as pure & naturally human as any otherin the world. His strength to keep on going & trying against this unwinnable battle is both inspirational & full of hopeless despair.
I think telling his story was,in the end, too much.
What a fantastic book. I am going to read it again this weekend & have the cry I had to hold off on the commuter train this morning.
Unbelievable - By: , 01 Sep 2002 I can't believe that this book hasn't been reviewed yet! This is quite simply one of the most beautiful novels you will ever read. Based on a true story this tells the story of a drag queen pimp that became one of America's most important literary voices. It is possibly Iceberg Slim's finest moment combining gritty images of street life with sensitive portrayals of child abuse as seen throught the victims eyes & a classic mother/child relationship.
Hailed by both authors & the hip hop communityin general, Iceberg Slim's words are at equal parts gritty, sensitive & poetic. Although it's a cliche, this book will make you cry & laugh.
