Links: Amazon • TBD • Goodreads
Publication Date: May 25, 2018
Source: Free copy from author
The King of FU is a magically realistic poetic memoir about growing up in America in the nineties on the cusp of the age of the internet. It is a voyage that navigates through family tribalism, supervisors, white-gloved Sheriffs, bullies, sex, suicide, dead prisoners, drugs, porn, middle school, and Jesus; all in search of answering one of life’s greatest mysteries: what is the point of adults? This artistic masterpiece comes from the mind of author Benjamin Davis with illustrations by Russian artist Nikita Klimov.
I always feel a little bit weird when I review poetry, because who am I to say whether it’s good or not? And especially this kind of poetry, which focuses on the author’s childhood and his experiences as he grew up in the 90s. That said, I’m going to try to put my thoughts about this book into words.
As a 90s kid myself, I was pretty excited when Ben emailed me to ask if I’d like to review his book. I was even more excited when an actual physical copy showed up in my mailbox, because when do I get actual physical copies? Never. I love the cover of this book, I love the little postcard that came with it, and I love the whole idea of this book.
Let me tell you, I read this in one sitting and I laughed all the way from the first page to the last. It was only after I finished that I realized that a lot of what I’d just read was actually very sad. But even with that, I really enjoyed this book! Given the opportunity, I can get really into magical realism, and I loved the combination of Ben’s writing and Nikita Klimov’s illustrations.
Thank you again to the author for mailing me a copy!
Have you read The King of FU? Do you like to read poetry or memoirs?
Let’s talk in the comments!
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I read the first sentence of your review, and burst into laughter. It could have been Mo who wrote that. She writes a “disclaimer” every time we review poetry on our blog.
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Haha, I feel like I really need that disclaimer! I don’t read a lot of poetry so sometimes I think I’m not the best person to judge it.
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Yeah, poetry is so subjective. But I like reading books in verse for the most part. This one sounds like one I might like. Thanks for the review.
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You’re welcome, thanks for the nice comment! I hope you’ll like this book! 😊
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Haha. Same. I never get physical copies too. International blogger problems. 😂 Glad you liked this. I love poetry! 😀
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Hi Marie, I’d be happy to send you a copy of The King of FU. I feel your pain. I live in Russia so I have to wait until I am home before I can send out copies for review, but I will be home in December.
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Hello! Thank you so much for the offer. 🙏 I read your email and just responded to it. Looking forward to reading your book. 😀
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Reblogged this on Benjamin Davis, author and commented:
Thank you very much to Sara at THE BIBLIOPHAGIST for her review of The King of FU. Both Nikita and I greatly appreciate it.
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Reblogged this on Flash-365 and commented:
Sara at The Bibliophagist reviewed our book The King of FU. Thank you very much! If you haven’t gotten a chance to pick up the book and are unsure if you’ll like it, Sara has some really great insights on both our book and many many others, check her out.
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Love this! Great review 😊
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Thank you! 🙂
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