WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ PICK • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, KIRKUS REVIEWS, LIBRARY JOURNAL, AMAZON AND APPLE BOOKS • A TODAY SUMMER READING LIST PICK • AN ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY BEST DEBUT OF SUMMER PICK • A PEOPLE BEST BOOK OF SUMMER PICKA raw, poetic, coming-of-age “masterwork” (The New York Times) about … A PEOPLE BEST BOOK OF SUMMER PICK
A raw, poetic, coming-of-age “masterwork” (The New York Times) about Blackness, masculinity and addiction
“Punch Me Up to the Gods obliterates what we thought were the limitations of not just the American memoir, but the possibilities of the American paragraph. I’m not sure a book has ever had me sobbing, punching the air, dying of laughter, and needing to write as much as Brian Broome’s staggering debut. This sh*t is special.”
—Kiese Laymon, New York Times bestselling author of Heavy
“Punch Me Up to the Gods is some of the finest writing I have ever encountered and one of the most electrifying, powerful, simply spectacular memoirs I—or you—have ever read. And you will read it; you must read it. It contains everything we all crave so deeply: truth, soul, brilliance, grace. It is a masterpiece of a memoir and Brian Broome should win the Pulitzer Prize for writing it. I am in absolute awe and you will be, too.”
—Augusten Burroughs, New York Times bestselling author of Running with Scissors
Punch Me Up to the Gods introduces a powerful new talent in Brian Broome, whose early years growing up in Ohio as a dark-skinned Black boy harboring crushes on other boys propel forward this gorgeous, aching, and unforgettable debut. Brian’s recounting of his experiences—in all their cringe-worthy, hilarious, and heartbreaking glory—reveal a perpetual outsider awkwardly squirming to find his way in. Indiscriminate sex and escalating drug use help to soothe his hurt, young psyche, usually to uproarious and devastating effect. A no-nonsense mother and broken father play crucial roles in our misfit’s origin story. But it is Brian’s voice in the retelling that shows the true depth of vulnerability for young Black boys that is often quietly near to bursting at the seams.
Cleverly framed around Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem “We Real Cool,” the iconic and loving ode to Black boyhood, Punch Me Up to the Gods is at once playful, poignant, and wholly original. Broome’s writing brims with swagger and sensitivity, bringing an exquisite and fresh voice to ongoing cultural conversations about Blackness in America.
more
Thank you Netgalley & Librofm for my review copies.
I’m not really a memoir reader of people I’ve never heard of before, but something about this book made me want to read. This memoir was beyond heavy. Brian struggled with deeply internalized racism and is also dealing with abuse from his father. Being gay in the Black community is frowned upon especially if you’re a guy. You are expected to “be a man” and conduct yourself a certain and if you didn’t good luck. The whole time I listened this story I wanted to reach in and give Brian a hug. He longed and looked for acceptance in all the wrong places. I was happy at the end when he finally found some peace.
This is one of the best books I have read in a very long time. I bought the book because Brian Broome is an old co-worker and (sometimes) friend of my son’s from his Pittsburgh days, but what I got was much more than just another book for my library; this memoir is so heartfelt, so beautifully written, and so insightful that I couldn’t put it down. I fell asleep two nights in a row, in the wee hours of the morning, with the book lying open beside me. Brian has poured his heart and guts out, letting the reader in on some pretty nasty, scary, and tragic episodes of his life as a poor, Black, gay boy growing up in a small town in Ohio. But there is humor in the tale as well. I won’t tell you any more about it, because that would be selling short the rawness as well as the beauty of this fantastic book. I can’t recommend it enough.
Wow, I just loved this memoir.
This tells of identity, as a Black man, and as a gay man, and at a very basic level, as a man, and what that means for his attempts to find himself and handle everyone’s expectations of who and what he *should* be. It gets into racism, homophobia, toxic masculinity, family, and addiction in a way that’s completely refreshing.
It’s an example of just truly great writing. That intangible, you-know-it-when-you-read-it quality of writing that sucks you in immediately and doesn’t let you come up for air until you’re through.
This covers his experiences as a young child, a young man in college, and an adult as well as his observations of a young boy on a city bus, and recognizing much of himself. It moves effortlessly between time periods, and even includes one segment from the perspective of his mother.
He very clearly is not trying to idealize himself, it comes off as brutally honest, even when it’s not flattering.
I’m so glad I read this, and would definitely recommend!
Thanks to #bookishfirst and #houhgtonmifflinharcourt for an early copy of this!
Brian Broome’s memoir tells his story of growing up as a gay, Black man in small town Ohio, which he describes as a “racist cesspool”. He takes the reader from his childhood, high school life, the sordid gay bar years, to life as a drug addicted young adult, and finally to healing. It is often difficult to read what Brian experienced as a child and young adult. It is a wonder he survived.
His recounts of his life are intermittently juxtaposed with the description of a bus ride across town, as he observes a young black boy and his father interact. As an adult he has the perspective to comment on the expectations that a young black boy is burdened with.
His father was abusive, misogynistic, and broken, his vision of masculinity so toxic that it is no wonder that Brian learns to hate himself. His mother is exhausted, shaped by her own early life and trapped in an abusive marriage. The chapter written from his mother’s perspective is one of the best and explains why she seems so cold emotionally, yet from her perspective, she is doing the best she can to protect her children from a cruel world. “White folks got plenty time to tell they children how wonderful and special they is, but that’s not how I was raised. A black child need to learn discipline in this world because if they don’t learn it, they end up dashed on the rocks.”
His writing is gripping, raw, and honest and he does not hesitate to describe situations that were degrading and that do not portray him in a flattering light. There are also moments of great humor that contrast with the darkness. Most of Brian’s problems are the result of internalized racism and homophobia, learned from a society that devalues both black and gay people. Brian’s book makes you think about how many societal ills, such as poverty, addiction and mental health problems, are due to the intergenerational trauma of slavery, ongoing racism and homophobia. Brian Broome has a gift for writing and introspection. #bookishfirst
Brian Broome’s debut book, Punch Me Up to the Gods, is a memoir that gives the reader an amazing look at Brian’s disfunctional family, being black, being gay, and dealing with addiction. And to think I almost did not read it. I read a First Impression reading in Bookish First which I almost did not do based on the unattractive cover. I am so glad my mother taught me to not judge a book by its cover. In my opinion, the cover is a turn off for this beautiful book.
First, Brian’s father’s way to teach his child is to punch him. I had to stop reading a couple of times and do something else. Interspersed with Brian’s narrative, we find Brian riding a bus and internalizing his life by watching a little boy named Tulan with a father who is constantly on the phone and not paying attention to his son. This journey motif was effective as it took the reader away from some of Brian’s stories of his life coping with home problems, the gay bar scene he was exposed to, and the bullies he came across. I did like that the author takes us back in time and we find out about his father’s life as a child. And, I especially like the chapter where his mom became the.narrator. In reading this book, I cried many times. I laughed. I yelled at the book. I admired the author’s prose. I will probably reread this book again. Thank you Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.
There’s a literary gut punch around every page in this book. Broome is frank when it comes to his experiences with racism and colorism, with homophobia, and with physical and emotional abuse. He doesn’t shy away from all of the nasty ways all manner of people excluded and abused and humiliated him. His father beat him for various minor offenses. His black peers bullied him mercilessly for not fitting in. His white peers only ever used him for entertainment. He had a tough life, but he survived to tell it.
And in telling it, Broome’s created a great narrative work. He’s a fantastic, sharp writer. The main theme of wanting love from other people without conforming to their expectations is present throughout. There’s also this recurring intermission, broken up throughout the book, called “The Initiation of Tuan.” It’s about a little boy that Broome sees on the bus who’s on the cusp of learning what’s going to be expected of him as a black boy. I always looked forward to returning to these parts; they kept the pace of the book swift and engaging. It could be argued that the last part was overly sentimental, but… I appreciated it.
This is a book for outsiders, for anyone who’s been othered or abused for being themselves, but I think everyone should read it.
*ARC received from HMH through BookishFirst