contemporary literature book reviews

1 Jan 09

Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama

I was wowed by Barack Obama's frankness in this book. It seems to benefit from being written before any presidential success. If he wrote it as president, or after he has served as president, I think it would be a very different book.
He admits in the preface of the new edition that he winced a few times upon re-reading his words, partly due to sometimes "an expression of emotion that seems indulgent or overly practiced", but I loved the moments of sentimentality, and particularly the idealism that emerged. Plus there are some cold hard truths in there.
I felt inspired when I read how Barack persisted, even though he encountered some tough situations while working as an organiser in Chicago. I was totally engrossed in the part when Obama finally goes to Kenya, where his father hailed from. He encounters a huge rambunctious extended family and discovers more about his heritage, and his father; although his dad remains an enigma to some extent.
Barack can really write (not that I'm surprised), so it was a very satisfying read - apart from obvious gap where details of how he met and fell in love with Michelle should be.