November 2025 - How to Say Babylon - Safiya Sinclair

For our last book of 2025, we have a memoir of growing up in Jamaica. Please note that we are meeting a week earlier in November.

'Throughout her childhood, Safiya Sinclair’s father, a volatile reggae musician and militant adherent to a strict sect of Rastafari, became obsessed with the threat of what Rastas call Babylon, the immoral and corrupting influences of the Western world outside their home. In an effort to keep Babylon outside the gate, he forbade almost everything. Safiya’s mother, while loyal to her father, nonetheless gave Safiya and her siblings the gift of books, including poetry, to which Safiya latched on for dear life. And as Safiya watched her mother struggle voicelessly for years under housework and the rigidity of her father’s beliefs, she increasingly used her education as a sharp tool with which to find her voice and break free.

Inevitably, with her rebellion comes clashes with her father, whose rage and paranoia explodes in increasing violence. As Safiya’s voice grows, lyrically and poetically, a collision course is set between them. How to Say Babylon is Sinclair’s reckoning with the culture that initially nourished but ultimately sought to silence her; it is her reckoning with patriarchy and tradition, and the legacy of colonialism in Jamaica.'

This book is available on Kindle. For international delivery you can find it from Blackwells and it may also be available at the library or an English language book store.

We are a "real" book club, which means we do read the book before the meet-up and discuss it. New members are always welcome.

We need to notify the venue about how many will attend, so please make sure your RSVP status is accurate.

Hope to see you there!