Becoming Michelle Obama
As Barack Obama’s second term as President was drawing
to a close and the campaign for the next election started, the media outlets in
the country were thrown into what Michelle Obama calls “a quandary” in her
autobiography, Becoming. The quandary was “how to quote (Donald Trump’s
bragging) without violating the established standards of decency.” What Trump
had bragged about was his successful assaulting of women with impunity. “I can
hurt you and get away with it.” That was Trump’s explicit attitude towards
women, asserts Michelle Obama repeatedly in the final chapter of her book.
When the United States of America
elected that man as their 45th President, was the country making a
boisterous political statement about its own standards of decency? When they re-elected
him for a second term later, what statement were they making again?
Michelle Obama doesn’t ask these
questions. But she answers them implicitly in the last pages of her book. Trump’s
kind of politics is “nastiness,” she asserts, “a tribal segregation of red and
blue, this idea that we’re supposed to choose one side and stick to it, unable
to listen and compromise, or sometimes even to be civil.” Trump “dehumanized”
America too soon.
This is not a book review.
A book that was published eight years ago and sold some 20 million copies doesn’t
need a review from me now. I visited a book fair recently near my home. It sold
mostly used books which looked as good as new. Pick as many books as can be packed
in a carton provided and pay according to the size of the carton irrespective
of how many books you take. Michelle Obama’s Becoming was one of the
seven books I managed to pack into a carton that cost me Rs1500. I loved
reading it too and just wanted to share my joy with you; that’s all.
Until Donald Trump makes his appearance
in the final pages, the book is sheer delight to read. It is divided into three
sections: Becoming Me, Becoming Us, and Becoming More. The
first part is about Michelle’s childhood and growing up, second about marriage
and life with Barack Obama, and the longest and last part is about life as the
First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS).
Being born “the great-great-granddaughter
of a slave named Jim Robinson, who was probably buried in an unmarked grave
somewhere on a South Carolina plantation” didn’t proffer much prospect in the
great USA. Michelle Robinson grew up in a one-room apartment in Chicago as a
very ordinary Black girl. The cultural sophistication of her parents played a
major role in shaping her personality. Otherwise she was just like any other
Black child in the neighbourhood though fortune favoured her with education in
prestigious institutions.
Meeting Barack Obama was a turning
point and the book gives all the details that the reader will find fascinating.
Obama’s kind of politics kept the couple fully engaged. Moreover, their
children were very young too when Obama became President the first time.
Michelle is full of love and
admiration for her husband. That made their life easier in spite of the busy
schedules and unexpected appointments. The book also gives us some inside views
of the White House and the American security system. For example, the Secret
Service uses code names for the President and his family. Barack was ‘Renegade,’
Michelle ‘Renaissance,’ and the children were ‘Radiance’ and ‘Rosebud.’
It is also amusing to learn about the
protocols and dress codes that the first family has to follow and how the
country’s media pays undue attention particularly to the First Lady’s dress and
appearance.
The personality and vision of Barack
Obama are portrayed vividly by his wife. The two of them did have clear visions
and great hopes for the country. But politics has a way of limiting goodness
too. Moreover, America has its fair share of racism which delimits what a Black
couple, even in the highest place, can achieve.
People like Donald Trump found the
Obamas “losers.” For Trump, all Mexicans are “rapists.” Unfortunately, people
like Trump flourish in politics. His latest actions in the Gulf region reveal clearly
what he is.
Since there are plenty of reviews of
this book available online, I don’t intend to go into more details. I just
wished to share a few thoughts and feelings as I completed reading the book.
Proud of you and Congratulations to you... That you still buy books... And you bought a carton full of books. And you still read... Read real books. And thanks for this treat of the silhouettes of Michelle Barack Obama. Just some autobiographical fragments on Obama and books. Once I was travelling by train and was seated on the lower berth. A group of girls huddled on the top berth were all muffled giggles Looking at me with some fascination. My body language made them realize that I was going through a puzzled investigation into the reason behind their playful mirth. And the reply came" Sir, you look Obama, ditto, with your low-cut hair. And the other snippet on books, which I might have shared with you and Maggie. During my M. Phil. Days at Chennai, I had ordered books worth Rs 2 Lakhs for our library in Warangal. Since Oxford would not directly deliver the book to me at Chennai, except through their agent in Warangal, Shyam had to receive the cartons of books at Hyderabad and bring them by his car to us. As he was driving into the college avenue, he was keeping on asking for me. " Who is this Fr Maliekal.? " Why Sir. He replied. "Very perceptive Selection of books. "
ReplyDeleteHari Om
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your feelings about this book - and I, too, commend you on your swag of books, now wondering what else was in there.... YAM xx