The boy behind the great Edward Said

Started 'Out of Place' by Edward Said last year for @awbashbookclub but still had the last chapters to read. Finally picked up the book again a few days ago and I was reminded of how much of a difficult read this book was to me. It was not at all what I expected. Said really goes into (extreme) detail about the educational institutions he went to. What other place to do that than in a memoir maybe, but still, the emphasis on his schooling was quite unusual to me (when I say 'detail', I mean 'deeeeetaaail'). What he shares about family dynamics and the bits he writes about politics in this book, I found more interesting.

Said also jumps quite a lot from one time frame to another, one place to another, which makes it difficult to not get too confused while reading.

And finally, the choice of words is at time quite (unnecessarily?) heavy, especially for a non-native English speaker like myself.

Maybe I just expected more political reflections as well, which I probably shouldn't have, but overall I honestly just struggled to finish this one. I think I should've read his other work before starting 'Out of Place'. I did learn quite a lot about Said, his upbringing and the wealth he was raised in (which surprised me too). The honesty with which Said writes is also very inspiring.

So I wouldn't say I don't recommend this book at all, I would just suggest to read his other work first if you haven't already.