Dec 09 2009

Sleeping Beauty & The Beast

Published by Nguyen Chi under Danny Senna

Danzy Senna’s Where Did You Sleep Last Night

Rating: 4.5 stars

Reason:

I was so surprised when I saw a tall, Caucasian-looking woman walking towards the podium after the name Danzy Senna was introduced. I said to myself, where is the half African American side of Danzy Senna or does it only exist on paper? Then the all the pieces in her new book, Where Did You Sleep Last Night, clicked in my head–ever since she was a kid, Senna has been battling with her own identity.

From what I have read about her family member, I was also shocked that Senna would talk so openly about them. She didn’t mind giving us a scoop on how her family is like on the night of Christmas, and how her niece was acting at the age of 14. I think that takes courage, especially for a woman who comes from such prestigious heritage in Boston.

I don’t know about you but I am definitely buying this book by Senna.

6 responses so far




6 Responses to “Sleeping Beauty & The Beast”

  1.   # Aon 13 Dec 2009 at 1:36 am

    I found her mentioning of her niece especially funny. It showed how open and accepting her family is. At the same time, it kinda seemed like she was defensive of her niece when that second question was asked about her by a member of the audience.

  2.   # Nguyen Chion 11 Dec 2009 at 6:18 am

    To Kay,

    I didn’t Google image her, maybe out of laziness. (I think this example is very apt for my English paper on Google images.) I just took the printed out black and white picture on the flyer for the talk at face value. That thumbnail photo didn’t have the best resolution.

  3.   # Nguyen Chion 11 Dec 2009 at 6:16 am

    To Nathaly and Sam,

    Thank you for saying that I am on a roll. Sarcastic comments are greatly appreciated, Nathaly.
    I don’t think she is necessary proud of her family; I think she has come to term with them more than anything else.

  4.   # Kay Mokon 10 Dec 2009 at 3:36 pm

    I was not surprised about Danzy Senna’s skin color because I cheated– I Google imaged her. 😛 The story of her searching for her identity was really authentic. I loved the section of the book that we read for class too!

  5.   # Samanthaon 10 Dec 2009 at 2:31 am

    While I agree with Chi, it does take courage to put it all out there, I didn’t get the sense that she was particularly proud of her family when she spoke of them. In fact she seemed to almost resent them and their behavior, but speaks about it because she has come to terms with it and how it has affected who she is.

  6.   # Nathaly Martinezon 09 Dec 2009 at 11:57 pm

    I agree with you again Chi. You’re on a roll. I think that she does have a lot fo courage, but she also loves her family so much that she is able to tell their story with no shame because she is proud of who they are. I did expect her to look that way for some reason.