Jun 26 2008
Book Review: Dreams From My Father (Part 1)
Book Review: Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Part 1: Origins pp. 1-129
By Barack Obama (Autobiography)
Copyright 1995 Three Rivers Press: New York
Dreams from My Father: Origins traces Obama’s childhood years in Hawaii and Indonesia and his undergraduate years in Los Angeles and New York. The recollection is from the perspective of Obama following his tenure as the first black president of Harvard Law Review (prior to his election to the Illinois State Senate).
President or not, Barack Obama is a genuine perspective and a breath of fresh air to the juggernaut that is American politics. In Part 1 of his autobiography, Obama illustrates the identity struggle that many multiracial Americans face. His struggle is exacerbated by the revolving door of father figures involved in his upbringing.
There was Lolo, who was Barack’s stepfather in Indonesia. A rugged veteran, Lolo served as emotional guidance. After getting beat up, it was Lolo who bought boxing gloves, and instilled values of strength and protection into a youthful Obama.
There was Gramps, who was Barack’s white grandfather. Gramps was not the breadwinner of the family, it was his wife Toot—Barack’s grandmother. Although gramps and Toot showed unconditional love to their live-in grandson, Obama discerns that they repressed racism, rather than confronted it.
Barack Obama Sr. is perhaps the most elusive figure in Barack Obama’s life. Like Jr, he was Harvard educated. Sr. had many children living around the world. One thing that I have not yet understood, which perhaps is a premise of the novel, is Obama’s readiness to respect his father, who was detached from him throughout his youth. It appears Barack Sr. was too busy with Kenyan politics to perform as a father. In any case, Barack Sr. died in a car crash in 1982, and it is perhaps the mystique of his father that drives Obama to finding himself.
Origins ends with Obama abandoning a posh opportunity working at a New York consulting firm to become a community organizer. This is arguably the beginning of Obama’s political career because he is getting involved in the collective action and grassroots that are necessary to make things happen in a political system.
Review By Jason Alyesh
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To read a review and see pictures of Part 2 of Barack Obama’s autobiography, visit: http://bayareashows.today.com/2008/07/15/book-review-dreams-from-my-father-part-2-chicago/