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Jackie Kay

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Red Dust Road Paperback

by Jackie Kay (Author)

4.3 629 ratings

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English
Publisher

Pan Macmillan UK
Dimensions

8.66 x 5.91 x 0.98 inches
ISBN-10

1509858393
ISBN-13

978-1509858392
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Product details

Language ‏ : ‎ English
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1509858393
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1509858392
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.66 x 5.91 x 0.98 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,758,976 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #13,763 in Author Biographies

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629 global ratings

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Jessica Weissman

Jackie Kay's Adoption Reunion Story

Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2011

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Jackie Kay is wonderful company, and so are her adoptive parents. If you've read her novels or short stories or poems, you probably already know this. And if you've read her Adoption Papers book of poems, you already know that she has thought and felt deeply about all members of what is now called the adoption triad - the child, the birth mother, and the adoptive mother.

Much later in life, Jackie Kay took up a serious search for her birth parents. She found them easily (thanks in part to the Internet), but making real contact wasn't quite so easy as meeting them. She brings us to her meetings with her birth mother and birth father - who have both become religious zealots. Sharp contrast to her communist adoptive parents. Luckily we spend much more time with the adoptive parents, who are lovingly portrayed and a hoot to boot.

No matter how many times you've read variations on the adoption reunion journey, there is always something new to learn, and a new set of emotions to observe. As a poetic writer, Jackie Kay is able to express what might at first seem the same old stuff in ways well worth reading. And there is an unexpected emotional payoff at the end.

Highly recommended. And I wish they'd used the cover photo from the UK edition instead of the the more abstrace one on the US edition.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

R. Klein

From Milton Keynes to Nigeria: A Search for Biological Parents

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2017

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A fascinating memoir from the irrepressible Jackie Kay, currently Makar of Scotland, on how she tracked down her biological parents (an ill-matched pair). My only quibble is that I wish that she'd presented the material in chronological order instead of jumping back and forth through time. The memoir should build to her discovery of her Nigerian father instead of presenting him head on in the first chapter, before we know Jackie's own story. Still, a good read by a delightful author.

Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2011

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For one of my grad classes, I accidentally purchased this memoir instead of Jackie Kay's fiction, Why Don't You Stop Talking?. I thought, "I'll just read the first few pages as long as it's here." I read the first 30 pages in one sitting and didn't even realize how quickly the time had passed. With honesty, wit, and sarcasm, Kay's writes about the happy times and the sad. Her life is told in a series of chapters in sequence with her life, except for those that recall events which she thinks about at different points during her life, constantly reevaluating them and herself. I recommend Kay's memoir to anyone (ages 15-100!) who enjoys a well-written and truthful story by one of Britain's best female, contemporary writers (and poets).

5 people found this helpful

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normmcv

An interesting read well told by the author but has some mundane moments.

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2014

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Average read. The book tends to go over the same material again and again. Not much to keep me interested although there are some funny moments particularly when she meets her father. I read the book after listening to an interview by Jackie Kay and found her story fascinating. Her adoptive parents were saints.

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Marina

I recommend. A pleasant book

Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2014

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This was really a great book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. it was not very long though, I finished in a week with just about 6 hours of reading. It was a pleasant insight into the life of an adopted person, but from a happy adoptive parenting situation. Would definitely recommend this lovely biography. The characters are interesting and, while the book jumps about a bit with periods of time, it was still easy to follow. Although an autobiography, it was not at all self absorbed, and you really spent more time learning about the family and people around Jackie, rather than all about her.

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KAREN HEYCOX

Worth looking at...red dust...

Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2016

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This was a well written autobiography...kept me interested throughout with its pathos and humour...

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Sonpoppie

Beautiful, poetic, memorable, moving

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2015

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I found Red Dust Road to be beautiful, poetic, memorable, and moving. After hearing Jackie Kay read at the Franschhoek Literary Festival recently, I immediately bought her poetry and this memoir. It's moved me to tears, smiles and laughing-out-loud. She's honest, humble, witty, wry -- also brilliant; she's an academic, a chancellor of a university and an MBE. What a life. Too black in Glasgow, too white in Lagos, Kay shows the pain of prejudice, but tempers her story with humour and wit. A lovely read.

4 people found this helpful

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Linda Cameron

Truth is stranger than fiction

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2013

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I read this book after hearing Jackie Kay interviewed on a radio program and being affected by her warmth and humour. That warmth and humour abounded in the book which was an absolute pleasure to read. This is a memoir that brings together the green hills of the Scottish highlands and the red dust of an African village. I just wish it was twice as long, I loved it.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Margaret Needham

Amazing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 30, 2023

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Such a enlightening memoir, told with such honesty. To suffer so many prejudices in her childhood and overcome all of them, going on to achieve so much is amazing. I will definitely read more of Jackie Kay's work's. Inspirational.

Kim Clayton

In my top 5

Reviewed in Australia on August 5, 2018

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This book is in my list of favourites, I’ve even purchased it as gifts. I love it. If you listen to Jackie online you will be able to read the book with her bubbly voice in your head. Fabulous, I want more.

D. Borie

Journey to one's self

Reviewed in France on April 5, 2014

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Red Dust road is Jackie Kay's, Scottish poet, journey to discover more about her biological parents. She was conceived by a brief passion between a white Scottish Highland lass and an African man from Nigeria (I think it was). He went back to Africa and she gave her daughter up for adoption. The story recounts Kay's long journey to understand better who her parents were and who she is as a person and poet, having grown up with white Scottish activist parents. A well-written and uplifting tale which shows you that family and home aren't always composed in the same way.

wiseone

A valuable insight.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2020

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I chose this book for my book club as my sister recommended it.
I really appreciated Jackie Kay’s insights on adoption and the racism that is “ I’ m not
racist but where do you come from? “
This is debatable because as a Geordie people used to say to me “Where do you come from?” The accent made some think of Ireland and even Wales.
I took it as a “ I can’t quite place you question .” I can now see that to Jackie it seems racist but was it?
I may say to a British Asian “ Where do you come from ?” Meaning “Where do you live?” Or “Which part of India did your family originally come from?”
I am not being racist but interested as I believe that the only race is The Human Race and our skin pigmentation due to where we originated is a fascinating aspect of our race.
I suppose it depends how the question is put like the tone of voice, the stresses put on different words the whole body attitude.
I had hoped I would live long enough to see World Citizenship when where you came from was a matter of interest not a matter of ranking you in some racial order of intelligence or importance. It grieves me that colour is still a way of judging people.
Adoption and the wish to find ones birth parents is fascinating.
My father died in the Second World War so when doctors, ask about possible family inherited health problems, I have to say that I do not know. My father was also an orphan and the paperwork about his origins is not there.
Some friends adopted children have found their birth parents with varying success. Disappointment, acceptance and relief. What a difficult situation for all to be in.
Love as Jackie shows, the love and understanding her adoptive parents showed, helped her cope with finding out the truth of her birth parents,
There were parts of the book which I found repetitive but then realised that her story was not a work of fiction but told it as it actually happened.
I would recommend this to all to read.
I was not a great fan of Nicola Sturgeon but her review showed her humanity and made me view her in a different light.
Don’t judge people BT what you see on tv!!!

4 people found this helpful

Margaret Riach

One Star

Reviewed in Australia on June 3, 2017

Verified Purchase

Disappointing

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