Book review: The King of FU by Benjamin Davis

The King of FU by Benjamin Davis

Rating: ★★★★☆
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!

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Have you read The King of FU? Do you like to read poetry or memoirs?
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