Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
How to Say Babylon
- A Jamaican Memoir
- Narrated by: Safiya Sinclair
- Length: 16 hrs and 48 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
Buy Now for £16.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Summary
An extraordinary and inspiring memoir of family, education and resilience, from award-winning poet Safiya Sinclair.
There was more than one way to be lost, more than one way to be saved.
Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where luxury hotels line pristine white sand beaches, Safiya Sinclair grew up guarding herself against an ever-present threat. Her father, a volatile reggae musician and strict believer in a militant sect of Rastafari, railed against Babylon, the corrupting influence of the immoral Western world just beyond their gate. To protect the purity of the women in their family he forbade almost everything: nowhere but home and school, no friends but this family and no future but this path.
Her mother did what she could to bring joy to her children with books and poetry. But as Safiya’s imagination reached beyond its restrictive borders, her burgeoning independence brought with it ever greater clashes with her father. Soon she realised that if she was to live at all, she had to find some way to leave home. But how?
In seeking to understand the past of her family, Safiya Sinclair takes listeners inside a world that is little understood by those outside it and offers an astonishing personal reckoning. How to Say Babylon is an unforgettable story of a young woman’s determination to live life on her own terms.
Critic reviews
‘Dazzling. Potent. Vital’ TARA WESTOVER
‘To read it is to believe that words can save’ MARLON JAMES
‘I adored this book … Unforgettable, heartbreaking and heartwarming’ ELIF SHAFAK
What listeners say about How to Say Babylon
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- K.Gregson
- 03-02-24
Beautifully crafted prose
Safiya expresses her story with such beauty and depth, I was riveted from start to finish.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nikki
- 16-12-23
Amazing.
Absolutely loved this book entirely. Hearing the author read it is a beautiful experience. I have so much admiration for her, and for her gift of writing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joanne
- 03-11-23
This book had me transfixed
What an amazing Woman and storytelling covering so many themes, Rastafarism, self-harming, Patriarchy etc.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Connie
- 13-05-24
A beautifully told story, the lyrical style of the author is so compelling.
A most powerful story told with deep emotions and authenticity. Safiya Sinclair has a beautiful voice which is do easy to listen to. I could not stop listening. The details from her early years right to the present were shared with softness and with fire. This book must be read by black women, it shines a light on our lives. It must be read by black men to understand how much we value their support. I would highly recommend this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Asha
- 23-06-24
Beautifully written
Loved it! I would definitely recommend! In addition to Safiyah telling her story, I particularly liked the historical elements at the beginning pertaining to the brutality inflicted on Rasta's especially under and early post colonial rule
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 20-11-23
incredible
I shall pass this book to my own daughter's to read,digest. A powerful captivating story that captures the readers. could not stop till it was finished.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Virginia L.
- 29-12-23
Enjoyed it so much I was sad when I finished it!
Beautifully told with so much depth and insight. What a talent Safiya Sinclair has. Listening to her voice telling her own story is special - I like sitting down to read a good book, but I’m this case I’m glad I experienced this take via audiobook as her narration is like a song.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 28-01-24
Safiya’s reading
Amazing beautiful strong female Jamaican book . Sharing and sharing with my beautiful Sistas black and white
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Theresa gray
- 09-01-24
Amazing Amazing Amazing
Saifya Sinclair Wow,wow wow I cried so much as your story reflects my own story and you have inspire me to put pen to paper to tell my own story I didn’t know I was holding my breath until the end I crumbled even more
Your words so crystal clear and pure in the description of your world was mesmerising poetic through and through this is a book for not just Black women but all women who have been oppressed by the world of men and society still to this day trying to hold us back there is lot of women who lives your story and a lot of women who does not have the gift of your words to express themselves thank you for being their voices thank you for releasing them from their silence and not feeling alone for this book is a light to women this is a must read book not just by women by men also who have wife’s and daughters and sons
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sarah Cubitt
- 11-03-24
Wonderful writing
This is an incredibly beautiful, poignant and poetic memoir of Safiya's life. She reads it with grace and lyricism and her writing is stunning. I have learned a lot about Jamaica and Rastafari by listening to this story. I can't recommend it enough.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!