Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain

Synopsis: In Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain Lori Tharps takes us on an unusual and enjoyable journey. The book is part coming of age story, part narrative of a young woman finding herself, and part love story. Lori Tharps was born and raised in middle class comfort in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she was often the only person of color in her school and neighborhood. Feeling dislocated in her home city and fascinated by other cultures and countries from a young age, Lori took all the available opportunities to travel from school sponsored exchange in Morocco in high school to spending her junior year of college in Salamanca, Spain. Lori went to Spain hoping that she would find a place where race doesn't matter. Although Lori didn't come across this idealized place, Spain was a did bring her self discovery and love and marriage with a young Spaniard. Review: I found Kinky Gazpacho a sensitive and fascinating read. The anecdotes of her childhood reveal the playground slights and ways that she was treated differently from her peers without bitterness or anger. I found Lori sympathetic, plucky and interesting - the sort of friend that I would loved to have at that age. I enjoyed reading about the different stages of her life and the ways that she and Manuel made a life for themselves and their family. Kinky Gazpacho is a wonderful read and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a memoir, coming of age story, or an unusual and satisfying read. Publisher: Washington Square Press (May 26, 2009), 240 pages. Book was courtesy of Color Online's Summer Madness Contest.

I found the author's journey entertaining, but also thought provoking. She brings up difficult issues, but in a light hearted way that is accessible to readers of any background.

This memoir by Lori Tharps, who also the co-authored of Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, was a nice, easy, lightweight coming-of-age story. The book got a little whiny at times as the author tried to reconcile the differences between the Spain of her imaginations and the real Spain especially as it related to the treatment, ideas and attitudes of Black people. But I was completely on-board as she struggled to figure out her identity as a Black person. She grew up in an area that was predominantly White and was never really confident in her Blackness especially when dealing with other Black people. As a first generation Nigerian born and raised in the states, that has been something I too have struggled with. If you speak English properly, enjoy reading and the Opera, well, then, you are not really Black. We know that's not true but I think it's something that many young, upwardly mobile, intelligent Black people face. What does it mean to be truly Black? Ms. Tharps story is inspirational in that she finds her own way to be authentically Black. I felt like she glossed over some things (like her children's birth and her practice of the Ba'hai faith) but these, I suppose, were not the focus of her book. She is, however, refreshingly honest about herself and her feelings/emotions in her page-turning memoir. I think it's that candor that makes you want to continue reading because there is nothing overly exciting going on in the book. It's her story. And it's just life. The ups. The downs. And the in-betweens. Great summer reading.

Lori Tharps describes herself on " My American Meltingpot ": * Gender: Female * Occupation: Writer/Teacher/Mom * Location: Mount Airy : USA Black-American Female. Wife of Spanish Male. Mother to 2 SpaNegro boys. Writer. Author. Teacher. Chameleon. People Person. Aspiring Icon. Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain expands that information in a factually and emotionally interesting way. She grew up in a white suburb of Milwaukee Wisconsin. At an early age she decided her destiny lay in Spain. She didn't know anyone there, had never visited the country and barely spoke Spanish. Part of her reason may for seeking an identity may lie in this passage about International Day from her grade school days: "The activities started at lunchtime. Our usual family-style meal was a smorgasbord of international flavors. We had bratwurst and apple turnovers, Swedish meatballs and some sort of Chinese stir-fry with crunchy noodles. No snails, though. After lunch we headed to the gym and were met with a riot of color and noise and information. We went around as a class first, visiting the different booths. Each booth represented a different country and was manned by volunteer parents in costumes. And then we were free to roam around, playing games, sampling sweets, and reading about distant lands. As I meandered around the gym, I completely forgot about my lack of heritage and just enjoyed all the activities with my friends. And then it was time for the parade of costumes, and I moved to the edge of the floor. I wasn't the only one without a costume, though. Other kids had forgotten or couldn't find anything to wear. I tried to act like I belonged with them. "By the time International Day was over, I felt like I had been holding my breath and I could finally let it go. All day long I had been praying nobody would ask me where I came from and why I wasn't wearing a costume. The fact that they didn't ask made me realize that they all probably knew and didn't want to make me feel bad. Everybody knew that Black people came from nothing." [This extract is taken from the Simon and Schuster website devoted to Lori Tharps.] Tharps attended Smith College and spent a year studying in Spain. Her "innocent dreams of a place where race doesn't matter are shattered." She found Southern Spain racist with a long and complex history of Black slaves from Western Africa. The history of slavery is suppressed by the Spanish Government and is forgotten by the Spanish public. On the personal side, she is chased down the street by kids and pointed at by adults. She learns that chocolate covered peanuts are packaged in "little plastic statues of a naked Pygmy with oversized red lips, bulging eyes and and a spear in his little hand" called " Conguitos ". [Google the word; it's almost shocking how the image leaps off the computer screen.] A Spanish mother struggling with her child, points to Tharps and says: "If you don't behave, I'll give you to that." An article in a Sunday paper d

I loved this book. It's a coming of age love story. race commentary and travel essay all rolled into one. The style of writing is very entertaining and makes you feel as though you're sitting in a cafe in Spain having a conversation with one of your best girlfriends. I think the thing that impressed me most was the author's ability to honestly reflect and admit her inner most thoughts, even when they might be embarrassing or self-deprecating, and then relay them in such a heartfelt and amusing way. Black or not, you will most likely find many things you can relate to in this story, but mostly you will simply enjoy the trip.