Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine 100,000,000/10

Claudia Claudia Claudia!!! In short form this review is a follows 100,000,000/10. I am just saying. In long form it goes like this… If you haven’t had the chance to read this book yet, stop what you’re doing right now and go buy this book (this book is also available on pdf -free- online). This book explores identity (which I have noticed I read a lot of) and the patriarchal system that keeps minorities in the gutter time and time again. This book is so beautifully written that it moves you in ways you may not even know you could be moved. Citizen falls under many genres such as Creative Non-fiction, Poetry, Non-fiction, and even Art. Yes, even art. Claudia takes pieces of art and displays them in her book to be read as a form of literature. But how can a painting, art, be literature? When we look at the fundamentals of critical thinking, critical writing, we are in hindsight deconstructing an idea to fit the norm of our understanding. We are essentially pulling apart all of the “what ifs”, the “I don’t get,” the “I don’t knows,” and continuously growing our intellectual self through the exploration of words. Art is the same. The lens we use for writing is the same one we use for art, it is subjective. We are creating meaning in our mind, in our heart. Claudia continuously uses art pieces throughout her book, side by side the words that catapult you into a new dimension of understanding. If you have no idea what Creative Non-fiction is do not fret, this book is a perfect start, a perfect example of this new genre. It explores absolute truths through with the use of figurative language. It combines poetry and fiction into one to create a beautiful story that is true yet magical. This book has won countless of awards and was named a Best Book of the Year by the Boston Globe, the LA Times, the New Yorker, and so many more. I recommend this book for personal reading and academic purposes. Again, my rating for this book is 100,000,000/10. Probably one of my top ten books to read of all time.