OCT - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

October review for Book Riot's Read Harder 2017: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, 1969. [classic by an author of color category]

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is a beautiful book. I'd read portions of it in school over the years, but I'd never had the chance to sit down and read it in its entirety. I love the relationship that Maya Angelou has with language, and it was thrilling to see that develop on the page as she told her own story. It details her tumultuous childhood, the many trials and tribulations that hardened her against the world and how she freed herself from them. She tells of being shuffled around from house to house, the sexual assault she experienced when she was barely old enough to know what it was, the race relations in the various places she lived.

Maya Angelou is a strong, phenomenal woman, and her story remains a classic across the years. I would argue that it is particularly appropriate in today's societal climate, with the groundswell behind sexual assault survivors and women of color, two groups that have been systematically denigrated for decades. I feel that I came to this book at an appropriate time, and while the year of awareness has been great, it is long overdue and needs to be amplified. I hope in some small way to contribute to that amplification.