I have attempted to read books written by politicians before, usually without much success. Even being a politically active and aware person cannot make up for the dryness and empty rhetoric which quickly loses my attention. So, I was not sure what to expect from Barack Obama’s “Dreams from my Father.”
As a Hillary voter, I have to admit I jumped on the Obama-train later than most. After he won the nomination, I supported him of course, but was not as totally enamored as everyone else seemed to be. He is, after all, a politician. I have warmed up since then, thanks in large part to his amazing memoir written back in 1994, just as he was getting involved in Illinois State politics.
Obama’s story is fascinating in its own right, but is made more intriguing by its being the story of our first African American president. A boy growing up without knowing his Kenyan father, raised by his white mother and grandparents, spending part of his childhood in Indonesia, questioning and searching for his own identity (racial, religious, and otherwise), finding some of his answers as a community organizer in Chicago’s South Side, and even more in communing with long lost family during a stay in Kenya.
We all know these bits and pieces about Obama’s life already, but the internal struggle he is able to convey in this book is moving and filled with layers of complexity. His thought process is analytical and displays an unwillingness to accept pat answers to difficult questions. The life experiences Obama explores in this book are such a contrast from what I have come to expect from American presidents, and at the same time are not all that different from the life experiences of many Americans. For some reason, I find this to be the best qualification of all to hold the highest office in the land.
Political views aside, I found this book to be a really intriguing read. It does not require you to think Obama is the Messiah, or to even be a Democrat. It is simply a fascinating and well-written memoir about an individual’s search for identity and his struggles in doing so. I am glad I invested the time and energy in reading it!
I’m in the middle of this book myself, and completely agree with your review. He explains all of the complexities so well — boiling down really complex feelings and contradictory emotions in a way that’s very easy to understand and empathize with. I’m really enjoying it so far.
I wonder how Germans reading his book would react and whether they can extrapolate his experience towards their own minorities?
Kristen: Yes, exactly! Hope you enjoy the rest of the book.
Damaso: That’s a really good question. I have yet to get a really good grasp of how Germans feel about minorities in their own country. I can’t tell if it is because I tend to look through a very American/New Yorker lens, or if I am just not asking the right questions. Or maybe I’m asking the right questions, but I don’t always like the answers I get. Either way, I get the sense that a lot of Germans (warning: huge generalization) would find Obama’s story a very “American” story and leave it at that, without drawing many parallels to the experiences in their own country.