Book Review: The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace

 I have two days to make 5-6 posts I've had in my backlog for a while before I embark on a new adventure in life. So...let's get to it :)

One of the books that N recommended me to read over the break was "The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace" or just "Rob Peace" as the movie is titled. It tells the (real) story of a talented black kid who grows up in rough circumstances but eventually manages to go to Yale. However, he falls back into the wrong crowd and/or makes wrong decisions and his life doesn't end so well (as you could have figured from the title).

I have two main feelings about this book and, honestly, it made think a lot about things. Mostly about the craft and the external circumstances surrounding even writing a book like this though. Specifically, the book was authored by Rob's affluent (and white) college roommate but yet discusses a lot of topics about "black" culture and it seems inauthentic in a sense. Furthermore, there's the meta-issue of the book being a springboard for the author's career (as his previous works do not seem successful) so, in some sense, it's like the (white) author is profiting over the story of his black college roommate. I don't mean profiting financially as he claims all proceeds to the book went to charity but rather in the sense of "reputation". If the only "success" you can claim is from re-iterating the story of a friend, then is that really being honest with yourself? Lastly, and this is perhaps me being petty, it doesn't like like the author and Rob were that close to begin with. His friends from the "hood" (ie. the Burger Boyz) seemed to be much closer with him but yet (in the real world) they seem to not benefit at all from the success of the book - they aren't involved in the movie premiere and I don't get the sense any money went to them.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, that when you write a book about a real person who was alive relatively recently, it's not easy to separate the art from the artist or it's material impact on the world. My most cynical interpretation is that the book almost seems like a vanity project, like the only good story the author had was by recounting a story of someone he knew who actually had an interesting life.

Anyway, to give credit where it's due, the book is well-written and has interesting themes overall. The main themes to me are about escaping the realities of your past (ie. the environment you grew up on) and how some mistakes are more costly than others. I think, as the author notes, Rob made some mistakes (just like we all do) but because of his circumstances (ie. being involved in the drug trade) they were just much more costly than the average stupid choices made by young adults.

Beyond that though, I would say that I feel less charitable towards Rob than perhaps the reader is supposed to feel. I empathize with his rough circumstances but, at the same time, it's clear he wasn't self aware enough to recognize his own issues. There's a lot of "toxic masculinity" (I hate to use that word unironically) that I think seeped into him from the black community which seems to be portrayed in how he never confides in anyone (even his so called "friends") and tries to be a nice guy and support women in his life without asking for things in return. But this need to support the women in his life at any costs (especially his "mom") leads him to do stupid things - even when his mom claims near the end of the book that she doesn't even need money much anymore. He doesn't listen to others really, and just seems to keep a one-track mind on what he mistakenly believes are his responsibility as a son (or a man overall) and I truly think that leads to his downfall.

Overall, it's a good book but it made me think more about society and my life overall rather than just appreciating the craft. It's a good reminder to me that we should be self-aware and realize when we are just being sucked back in the emotional trauma we might have suffered in our past - or else we'll be doomed to keep repeating it. 

Oh yeah, I guess another nice moment is that I watched the movie with my dad afterwards. I appreciate that he took the time to watch it with me, and I think I'll miss moments like this when he's no longer here. It felt a bit awkward to discuss with him after, so we didn't really do it much, though I would have liked to it. I do remember him saying it was "very deep" though and also mentioning something about how "you can be very smart but just make a few wrong decisions and that's it..." so I think he got the overall message.