Book Review: “Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations” by Mira Jacob

“Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations” by Mira Jacob (2019)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Graphic Novel

Page Length: 349 pages (hardcover edition)

Synopsis:

Mira Jacob’s touching, often humorous, and utterly unique graphic memoir takes readers on her journey as a first-generation American. At an increasingly fraught time for immigrants and their families, Good Talk delves into the difficult conversations about race, sex, love, and family that seem to be unavoidable these days.

Inspired by her popular BuzzFeed piece “37 Difficult Questions from My Mixed-Raced Son,” here are Jacob’s responses to her six-year-old, Zakir, who asks if the new president hates brown boys like him; uncomfortable relationship advice from her parents, who came to the United States from India one month into their arranged marriage; and the imaginary therapy sessions she has with celebrities from Bill Murray to Madonna. Jacob also investigates her own past, from her memories of being the only non-white fifth grader to win a Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest to how it felt to be a brown-skinned New Yorker on 9/11. As earnest and moving as they are sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, these are the stories that have formed one American life. (Description from Goodreads)

Review:

I was interested in reading this book after seeing so much buzz about it on Bookstagram. Plus I love graphic memoirs! Good Talk is the author’s reflection on life in America, her memories of the past, and what it’s like being a woman of color raising a brown child in today’s world. The book is very easy to digest and like the title suggests, it reads just like a intimate conversation that you would have with someone you know.

Jacob openly discusses race and other topics prompting a deeper conversation with her readers. She talks about her struggles, love/marriage, her career as a writer, among many other aspects of her life.. My favorite parts were the open and candid conversations with her son. He asks a lot of difficult questions and she tries to answer them in the best way she can.

What is most striking about this book is the art style! I loved the use of drawings overlaying the photograph background settings. It gave the book and overall mixed media feel.

I had a lot of emotions while reading this book. It was hopeful, entertaining, sad, realistic, and heartwarming all at the same time. I liked that this book was an open letter to Jacob’s son and I felt the strong personal connection to the narrative as a woman of color. Though the stories and conversations are snippets from different periods of Mira’s life they all seamlessly weave together into one larger piece. This book was a journey with an open ending that looks towards the future.

This is one of my top favorite reads of 2020 easily and I recommend it to everyone!

Final Verdict: