Customer Reviews

Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain (Wsp Readers Club)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This memoir by Lori Tharps, who also the co-authored of Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, was a nice, easy, lightweight coming-of-age story. The book got a little whiny at times as the author tried to reconcile the differences between the Spain of her imaginations and the real Spain especially as it related to the treatment, ideas and attitudes of Black people. But I was completely on-board as she struggled to figure out her identity as a Black person. She grew up in an area that was predominantly White and was never really confident in her Blackness especially when dealing with other Black people. As a first generation Nigerian born and raised in the states, that has been something I too have struggled with. If you speak English properly, enjoy reading and the Opera, well, then, you are not really Black. We know that's not true but I think it's something that many young, upwardly mobile, intelligent Black people face. What does it mean to be truly Black? Ms. Tharps story is inspirational in that she finds her own way to be authentically Black. I felt like she glossed over some things (like her children's birth and her practice of the Ba'hai faith) but these, I suppose, were not the focus of her book. She is, however, refreshingly honest about herself and her feelings/emotions in her page-turning memoir. I think it's that candor that makes you want to continue reading because there is nothing overly exciting going on in the book. It's her story. And it's just life. The ups. The downs. And the in-betweens.

Great summer reading.

Tharps' story about her love-hate relationship with Spain was high on my list of must reads for this summer - and it turned out to be time well-spent. Tharps chronicles her youth in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she was the only Black girl in her predominately white classes, to her undergrad days at Smith college, where she is one of the few Black women on campus. Tharps struggles to find herself and determine where she fits in. As a youth, she develops a strong love for Spain and vows to see this country that she has fallen so deeply for. Tharps takes her readers to Salamanca and we watch as her adoration for this country slowly turns to something else when she encounters its citizens and learns its hidden truths. This is simply a love story - and in the end, I think Tharps eventually learns to love the thing that is most important - herself.

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.

I loved this book. It's a coming of age love story. race commentary and travel essay all rolled into one. The style of writing is very entertaining and makes you feel as though you're sitting in a cafe in Spain having a conversation with one of your best girlfriends. I think the thing that impressed me most was the author's ability to honestly reflect and admit her inner most thoughts, even when they might be embarrassing or self-deprecating, and then relay them in such a heartfelt and amusing way. Black or not, you will most likely find many things you can relate to in this story, but mostly you will simply enjoy the trip.

Lori Tharps describes herself on " My American Meltingpot ":

* Gender: Female
* Occupation: Writer/Teacher/Mom
* Location: Mount Airy : USA

Black-American Female. Wife of Spanish Male. Mother to 2 SpaNegro boys. Writer. Author. Teacher. Chameleon. People Person. Aspiring Icon.

Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain expands that information in a factually and emotionally interesting way. She grew up in a white suburb of Milwaukee Wisconsin. At an early age she decided her destiny lay in Spain. She didn't know anyone there, had never visited the country and barely spoke Spanish.

Part of her reason may for seeking an identity may lie in this passage about International Day from her grade school days:

"The activities started at lunchtime. Our usual family-style meal was a smorgasbord of international flavors. We had bratwurst and apple turnovers, Swedish meatballs and some sort of Chinese stir-fry with crunchy noodles. No snails, though. After lunch we headed to the gym and were met with a riot of color and noise and information. We went around as a class first, visiting the different booths. Each booth represented a different country and was manned by volunteer parents in costumes. And then we were free to roam around, playing games, sampling sweets, and reading about distant lands. As I meandered around the gym, I completely forgot about my lack of heritage and just enjoyed all the activities with my friends. And then it was time for the parade of costumes, and I moved to the edge of the floor. I wasn't the only one without a costume, though. Other kids had forgotten or couldn't find anything to wear. I tried to act like I belonged with them.

"By the time International Day was over, I felt like I had been holding my breath and I could finally let it go. All day long I had been praying nobody would ask me where I came from and why I wasn't wearing a costume. The fact that they didn't ask made me realize that they all probably knew and didn't want to make me feel bad. Everybody knew that Black people came from nothing." [This extract is taken from the Simon and Schuster website devoted to Lori Tharps.]

Tharps attended Smith College and spent a year studying in Spain. Her "innocent dreams of a place where race doesn't matter are shattered." She found Southern Spain racist with a long and complex history of Black slaves from Western Africa. The history of slavery is suppressed by the Spanish Government and is forgotten by the Spanish public.

On the personal side, she is chased down the street by kids and pointed at by adults. She learns that chocolate covered peanuts are packaged in "little plastic statues of a naked Pygmy with oversized red lips, bulging eyes and and a spear in his little hand" called " Conguitos ". [Google the word; it's almost shocking how the image leaps off the computer screen.] A Spanish mother struggling with her child, points to Tharps and says: "If you don't behave, I'll give you to that." An article in a Sunday paper discusses "the Black woman's hypersexuality through their intrinsically savage nature."

Tharps stays in Spain and eventually meets Manuel. One of the most moving passages describes how Manuel introduces Lori to his family. His grandmother spies on her; and his grandfather is warm in his welcome, but tells her many racist jokes.

This wonderful book is a memoir, a travelogue and most of all a love story. It taught me a great deal about the Black experience in the US, about slavery and racism in Spain (something I knew nothing about), and about the human heart.

Robert C. Ross 2008

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.

From the pink cobblestoned streets of Salamanca to the quaint fishing village of Barbate, this book tells the tale of one young Black American woman who searches to find herself in a country that she describes as "peculiar" and one that has a "particular attitude towards Blackness." It weaves the tale of one extraordinary adventure, one that ultimately starts with Morocco and ends with Spain. Only this story is a real adventure. It is touted as a memoir and that is exactly what it is...it is a coming of age tale coupled with trying to find one own's identity and it is a love story. What makes this memoir stand out just a little more is the fact that it provides a great history lesson. After reading this book, I conducted my own search about Spain's past. Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love, & Spain is a delight to read and I enjoyed every moment of it-even those moments of reading where I might have wanted to cringe but did not-so I give this book 5 stars. I love it because the premise of the book may seem simple: girl studies abroad in Spain, girl meets boy, girl and boy get married and live happily ever after. It is so much more than that because it is about Life. Love. And Spain.

Part memoir and part travelogue, Tharps has penned an awesome book about when cultures collide in the US and abroad. She opens up about her experiences growing up as the nearly lone Black girl in her very White private school and her traveling adventures mainly in Morocco as Junior in high school and Spain as a Junior at Smith College. Once foreign language studies enters her life, and after choosing Spanish, she spends the majority of her formative years believing Spain will bring her the racial and emotional freedom she craves. From her first encounter with Spain, this looks like it may be a dream unfulfilled, but, in the end, we discover it was just a dream deferred. This book has elements of love, cultural politics, travel to exotic locales, and even a little sleuthing. I highly recommend Kinky Gazpacho.

I am so loving Tharps as a writer at this moment and cannot wait to read Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America which she co-authored with Ayanna D. Bird. I don't totally expect the writing to be the same as I'm sure this work is more informative and historical in nature. Her writing is just so clean and unpretentious. I really hope for and look forward to future Lori L. Tharps works.

Delightful memoir of a young black American woman going off to study abroad in Spain. A true page-turner for me. She makes you feel like you're following her every step as she embarks on her cultural journeys from the multicultural fair during her elementary school days to her time navigating through the rich cultural history of Spain. There she runs into both racism and true love. For anyone who's traveled abroad or wishes to do so, this is a must read.

This is one of the most degrading pieces of literature I have ever read, Lori starts off confused about her background and history and not one person tells her a thing, her mother brushes her off by sublimating her roots and trying to assimilate the young black girl into...I don't know some story book character clothes. Lori later tries to reconcile herself to being accepted by others and has very limited experience with members of her own race just like her!!!As a smart black girl myself (well hopefully, I'm smart I think I am-this sounds like Lori)I have plenty of friends of all races including my OWN. Okay its her coming of age but she singles herself out making a spectacle of the condition so she can later meet a green eyed man, and I coming away feeling like she wishes she wasn't black or she hates herself while trying to believe she loves who she is. Horrible the end of the book features a black doll, she needs to read Toni Morrison and like get over it! She is on a soapbox through the whole book ranting about trying to find herself not once does she have a self affirming moment, not when she is parading through the street with her white looking husband discussing the Black Spain-(like she never or they never heard of Moors or Santos)...Or speaking about her children with a man from Spain will they be Cuban she asks-because some Cubans happen to be black-how serious can anyone take her, there are dark people in Spain-but not enough for her not to internalize all that darkness (a pun), pulling out her hair over nonsense I say, this book is filled with self hate with minimal resolution, would I give it to my little cousin NO would I suggest it NO would I tell Lori to rethink her values of course. No nice black people in this book yet a group of white boys including Lori's first crush gather to make an N word pile...um I am totally baffled by this mess and I hope that strong people read this book and don't come away embittered by a hopeless whinny silly black girl looking for excuses in the middle of a glorious sunset with brown Jesus above her-you have to read the book to get the analogy-better yet don't pay it any heed.