Alexander Pyles's Reviews > They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us

A triumph in every sense of the word and certainly not the last book I will read of Abdurraquib's. Intimate, lyrical, and honest - every essay while, framed at times by music criticism or cultural criticism, hammers in on Abdurraquib's inner life.

Few writers have made me feel more "myself" despite writing about things that are not "myself." I didn't grow up in the Midwest. I didn't grow up a rough neighborhood and I am, obviously, not black.

Yet, while feeling empathy towards Abdurraqib's words - I felt a certain kinship with him and that might be a little weird and strange. I could not suppress the feeling. I'll have to find more words to put here, but for now I think it would be best to leave it at that.