I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Published by Penguin Random House Audio
4/5
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About this audiobook
Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Her life story is told in the documentary film And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS’s American Masters.
Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou's debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.
Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local "powhitetrash." At eight years old and back at her mother's side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age-and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors ("I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare") will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.
Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity."-James Baldwin
Editor's Note
The great American memoir…
Maya Angelou’s extraordinary narrative autobiography is an incredibly powerful portrait of a black woman coming of age in America. Told with beauty, honesty, and courage, Angelou’s resilience is perennially astounding.
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Reviews for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
2,930 ratings102 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A memoir from Angelou's earliest years to the birth of her first child. There's a lot of terribleness in this era of segregation and Jim Crow, but also a lot of love and joy - and even a fair amount of humor. ("Preach it!") And wow, could Angelou ever write a sentence. Even the darkest passages contain the most beautiful phrases. It makes you want to read it nice and slow, to savor all those amazing words. Recommended.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing book! Angelou somehow captured her childhood essence with all the honesty and purity of thought that only a child can evoke. Simply brilliant and tragic and hopeful and honest and thought-provoking and HUMAN!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a re-read for me and I enjoyed and appreciated it much more the second time round. Published in 1969 it is the first of a seven part autobiographical series. The book covers the first seventeen years of Maya’s life and has been described as autobiographical fiction, because there is far too much detail in the story telling (whole conversations are repeated verbatim) for it to be an accurate biography. She was over forty when she was encouraged to write her autobiography and while she based the story around the facts of her life she seems to have been more concerned about getting across what it felt like to be a black girl growing up in America before second world war and in this she has been very successful. My reading experience was one of looking over the shoulder of a person in an environment that I knew something about from other reading, but this biography filled out the picture. The book was a best seller in 1969 and garnered much critical acclaim. Maya writes about her childhood in Stamps Arkansas, where segregation was a matter of course and then her later teen years in San Francisco, where racism was a little more subtle. She writes with painful honesty about a rape when she was eight years old, about her rose tinted vision of her father and to a certain extent her mother and about her own pregnancy at seventeen years old. Her naivety about sex is particularly well expressed and enables the reader to understand perfectly well how things happened to her the way they did. The book has important things to say about black female identity, racism, sex, religion, education and living conditions for black people in America in the 1930’s and these are assisted by the 40 year old authors reflections and story telling. This is an heartfelt autobiography dredged from the memories of an articulate and brave black woman written in a style that holds the readers attention. A deserved success and a book that feels as fresh to me as it did in the 1970’s. 4 stars.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I quite appreciated getting to know the details of Maya Angelou's early life. The hardships endured in the time as a woman of color is something to be considered by those in this generation who know little about the real happenings of life and the necessity of one's power to endure. This story was told in first person as experienced by young Maya Angelou herself, and adds nicely to even deeper understanding of how she perceived her life as a young girl.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Never was assigned this as reading in high school or college; maybe it hadn't yet achieved that kind of status at that time. I finally read it on the recommendation of a 12-year-old (!) to complete a square on my summer reading bingo card ("Book recommended by a young person"). There is a salt-of-the-earth quality to Maya's memoir of growing up in Stamps, Arkansas. Events that would be stunning or shocking to others are treated with a tone of thoughtful matter-of-factness. Which makes the sexual assault by Mr. Freeman all the more devastating. Being a black American means understanding certainties about one's existence and Maya's narrative brings that to light in ways that are humorous, tragic and bittersweet.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A wonderful memoir about the challenges of growing up with ubiquitous discrimination. Though at times wrenching as Maya grows she increasingly counters this oppression.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My review from Amazon:Maya Angelou can write, there is no question about that. Her descriptions in this book are so vivid and expressive that I feel, in a small way, I know what it might have been like to live in Arkansas during the 1940s.I found in the reviews that there seemed to be 2 reasons that people didn't like this book:1) kids forced to read it for school - I'm not surprised. If I was 14, I probably would have hated it too. Kids want books with action and a story.2) suggestions that Maya Angelou is a racist - this book is told through the eyes of a young black girl who rarely met a white person and those she met treated her in ways that stripped her of her dignity and her personhood. Any negative feelings she had are entirely understandable.Maya writes with honesty and such feeling that at times it is almost painful to read but I'm glad I did. I'll never know what it feels like to be black and the target of bigotry but Maya has helped me understand just a little by letting me walk a while in her shoes.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Such a great insight into Maya's life. Though her life was quite hard and tragic at times, she endured and became a voice for many. I wish I would have listened to this one as I think it would of brought the book more to life. This book was certainly a great choice for our book club. There was many subjects to discuss.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I read this book a long time ago in high school, and I read it again as an adult. It has withstood the test of time (unlike "The Catcher in the Rye." Sorry, J.D.) Dr. Angelou's story of her early life growing up in Stamps, Arkansas, is full of warmth, compassion, wit and insight into the human spirit.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a very interesting and at times moving story about the author's experiences growing up. She first remembers life in a small southern town living above her grandmother's store. Segregation was still a fact of life but it didn't have too much impact on her because they lived in an exclusively black neighbourhood. Then her father came to visit from California and it was decided that Maya and her brother would go to St. Louis to live with their mother. Life is St. Louis contrasted badly with her previous existence. After a terrible incident, the children returned to live with the grandmother for a while. The incident (which I don't want to specify) scarred Maya badly but she was able to gradually come out of her shell. Then, it was decided the children should move to California to live with their mother who had relocated to San Francisco. Maya liked San Francisco but had another horrible incident occur while she was visiting her father. I guess it's true that whatever doesn't kill us, makes us stronger because Maya Angelou is one strong woman. If you think your life has been hard, read this book to find out how lucky you are.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I admit this is the first book I read by Maya Angelou (but not the last), and I was hooked from the first lines. What I found fascinating is that this is a story that opens up to you unconditionally, and offers so many interpretations, depending on what you want to get out of it. To me, it is a story of maturing, of becoming, of being human. I have drown and come back to life while reading it, and immensely enjoyed it.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I personally found this book to be okay. I was rather engaged in the beginning, as I found Maya's description and narrative style to be rather fascinating. As the book progressed, however, I felt that I was losing the plot and started to become a bit disengaged with the book.A good book that captured my intellect, but not my heart
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This is not a novel, but an autobiography. It's the story of a black American girl, growing up in Arkansas and California in the thirties and fourties of the twentieth C. Interesting as an historical document on racial discrimination and poverty, and as a psychological document on growing up and the female condition. There were a few beautiful and even exhiliarating scenes, and lots of strong pages on the treatment of blacks by white people. And ofcourse the scene of her rape, as an 8 year old, leaves a strong impression. But I must confess, the last third of the book was rather dull.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I thought the book would talk about how Maya became who she is today. While I know that her childhood affected her, I don't feel like I understand her artistry any better. Also I thought there was some very shocking sexual information that didn't need to be so explicit. (Ex. her thoughts when she saw her labia developing). I really think I could have lived without that information. But given all that her writing is amazing. Also it is amazing that she came from such a difficult childhood.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I read this book after seeing Maya Angelou speak. She was an amazing woman of about 80 at the time, funny, charming and well spoken. Her story in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" made me re-think some of my ideas about race and my life. An easy read, and definitely worth it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is Maya Angelou's story of her childhood up until she turns 17 years old. An inspiring story about an amazing woman.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I've admired Maya Angelou for some time and I've just got around to reading her autobiography. Its a book, that I really liked. I got a really good insight into her young life. I never knew anything of what her life was like but I'm glad that it didn't prevent her from doing great things. I intend to carry on reading the rest of the autobiography's and finding out more about this great woman.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I almost feel as if no review is needed of this book. Either you've read it already or you never will, is how I see it. ;)
I picked up this book because I had heard of its mystic draw years ago and Maya Angelou is revered as one of the most inspirational women of our lifetime for her ability to persevere and rise above the road blocks placed against her. We were never exposed to this book in my high school, to which I am grateful. I don't think this book is necessarily appropriate for early high school English classes but I do think it may be beneficial for the seniors, who are more likely to be able to handle the extreme graphic descriptions of what happens to Ms. Angelou.
Her book is, as an under-statement, absolutely ravishing. I devoured every word of this book; reading many pages more than once before moving on. Her descriptions of life around her, right down to the hum of tension in a room, are perfection. Her description of all the events leading up to, during and after her rape and abuse, are all so crystal clear and painful to read, if only because they are so real. So undeniably childlike in their pureness.
I was moved by Ms. Angelou's honesty, shamed by how herself and all around her were treated but also, for the first time, I felt enlightened about a time I had no experience in. I felt I had finally read a real account of "simple" life when racism was not only commonplace but still widely accepted as no-big-deal.
This book is wonderful, eye-opening, descriptive, a real-life page turner that leaves you feeling full and simultaneously more curious than before. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very well written and an interesting story, bit slow for the first part but then a bit too quickly paced in the second half which skips over quite a lot of her life in California.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5She's a good writer. This is an autobiography. Growing up black and segregated. I enjoyed it at first but got tired of it. Kind of repetitious.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a re-read "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" again, after many years ago. This time around, I feel even more compelled to read the rest of Maya Angelou's autobiographical series (I am not sure if I was aware then that there were more). In this first volume, Angelou recalls her early life from early childhood to about the age of 18. She writes beautifully but this doesn't cover up the ugliness of some incidents of her life in pre-Civil-Rights America; her writing serves to be extremely compelling. Angelou does recall her remarkable grandmother and other members of her family who were part of the formation of Angelou's being. Loved reading this book and I'm definitely following through and searching for the next one of her seven memoirs, "Gather Together in My Name".
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a first-hand account of growing up black and female in depression-era USofA. Re-visiting the years from around age 3 to 17, Angelou imbues her narrative with humour and grace. At times, she comes across as a bit too altruistic but it's clear that she lived a life of strength through adversity. There are some laugh-out-loud funny moments, ("I say, Preach it!"), and many poignant observations, ("If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. It is an unnecessary insult.")I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a relatively short and easy read. There are apparently more installments that complete her full memoir. I will have to look them up as I found this first volume fascinating.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is Maya Angelou's memoir of her life up until about her early twenties. Mostly set in the South, she tells of a semi-impoverished childhood in an early 20th century America that is still reeling from the legacy of slavery. Perhaps what is most striking about this memoir is that it was written in the 20th century, but the life she describes is very different than what people experienced even a mere 50 years later. The story is engrossing and at times horrifying, but always interesting. The only reason why I give this book four stars instead of five is that I felt the ending was a bit of a let down--perhaps because I wanted to read more. This book is well worth your time and effort and is an example of why Maya Angelou is so renowned.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiography of Maya Angelou up until around age 16. She spins a nice tale about living in the small town of Stamps, AK. Readers get a real feel for what the town is like, the dichotomy between white and black residents and the values that Angelou's family lives by.Angelou grew up mostly with her grandmother, living for short periods of time with her father and her mother, divorced from each other. It was one period living with her larger-than-life mother that Maya was raped by her mother's boyfriend. He didn't live to tell the tale...Maya's uncles saw to that.Her grandmother was a wise, strong lady who was influential in the town and a landowner, a rare situation for blacks in Stamps. Maya grew up thinking she was homely, but as she grew up, she gained more confidence. She ran away from her father's house after his girlfriend called her mother a whore. She lived in a car wrecking lot with other runaways for a month. There unquestioned acceptance made her see the world in a new light.While most of this book was reasonably pleasant, I don't see it as attracting YAs all that much. Much of what Angelou experienced is foreign to an urban/suburban teen. It is very character driven, less plot driven. There's some action. The book is somewhat literary. I'm glad I read it, but I would not have felt deprived if I had not read it.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Required reading for White Suburban Women's Neighborhood Book Clubs. At least this book is well written.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Memoir of Maya Angelou's childhood up to her graduation from high school. She relates the difficulties of a black child growing up in a racist America. Her early experiences show a determination of spirit and a tolerant and forgiving nature.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou; (4*)Written in such lyrical language, this is a very powerful story. It explains much about the end of the segregation era. Angelou rises to heights unreachable by other autobiographical writers.It is a wonderful story telling of life as Black woman supported by family and dismissed by society. She warns of future times that may present the same challenges.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a wonderful memoir and exploration of the coming of age of an African American girl growing up in Arkansas in the years prior to WWII. Angelou's storytelling is wonderful. She pulls no punches in exploring the experience of growing up Black in the deeply segregated American South, but neither is she bitter. She is just real. Her language is, at times, lyrical; she gives us just a hint of the poet she is to become. "Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware." At other times, it is straightforward, telling her readers exactly what she wants them to consider."The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power. The fact that the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence. It is seldom accepted as an inevitable outcome of the struggle won by survivors and deserves respect if not enthusiastic acceptance."Her experience of being raped by her mother's boyfriend when she is just eight years old has become a defining facet of Angelou's commonly understood autobiography, but it is only one episode in a rich young life full of agony, joy, loneliness, deep connection with family, innocence and a precocious (but unpretentious) ability to understand her location in the larger sphere of the world. Highly recommended.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I am sorry I struggled so to find time to read this delightful small book. Ms Angelou took me back to much of my life as a young adult working in The Civil Rights Movement. It was all in capital letters in those days. She does a master's job of describing her young life among her extended family in Arkansas, Missouri, and California. Her experience of living in turn with her grandmother and uncle, her mother, and her father was not unusual for American blacks in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Her description of learning how black people are treated differently than white people reminds me of all the indignation young white college kids felt in the 1960s when learning of these realities from afar. The book was for me a very personal visit to an earlier age and I enjoyed it.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Interesting and engaging, but I find myself combining it in memory with the better "Invisible Man" by Ellison. I was confused about why she decided to end it where she did. I was hoping she would describe more of her adolescence and young adulthood.