Winter Break Books: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Even if the thought of an autobiography makes you cringe, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou is well worth your time. This book chronicles the first part of Angelou’s life from the time when she is sent to Stamps, Arkansas where her grandmother lives to when she arrives in San Francisco to live with her mother. Angelou is an accomplished poet who has written volumes of poetry, is fluent in several languages, and was the second person to read a poem at a presidential inauguration.

Angelou wrote this book when she was challenged to write a story about her life by a friend. Angelou’s style makes this book well worth reading. She uses various types of perspective, which differentiates the adult Angelou from the child Angelou. This makes reading her autobiography similar to reading a novel. At times, it almost seems as if Angelou has completely removed herself and is referring to a fictional character instead of her childhood self. The use of varying perspective makes it a lot easier to stomach the more disturbing parts of the novel.

That being said, if you are faint of heart than this book may not be for you. Angelou deals with several sensitive topics that affected her in her youth such as rape, racism, and a feeling of displacement. Overall, Angelou deals with these themes in a way that makes you sympathize for her without feeling as if she overplayed the events for the sake of drama. Although Angelou had a tough life, it is clear from her autobiography that she is not asking for your pity nor allowing these obstacles to define her. Though she describes the good and the bad, for me the events that stood out were the ones in which she experienced significant personal growth, such as a crazy car ride through Mexico or lobbying for a job as a cable car conductor. All in all, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a thought-provoking yet accessible autobiography that reads like a novel. At times it may make you laugh, other times cry, but it is guaranteed that by the end you will feel satisfied. As an added bonus it is less than 300 pages with large print, a nice quick read.