Week Five: Fluidity and Can You Relate to a Pimp?

     Fluidity is possibly the most important thing when it comes to writing a memoir. Fluidity is important when it comes to accurately portraying how we perceive memories and how we portray the self. Memories are a fluid thing. It is not laid out like the pages of a book but instead free flowing within our minds. Memories weave in and out of each other even when we try to accurately lay them out. How we view the self is also fluid. Depending on the place, time, people, and other factors, how we view ourselves can change drastically. The author of the memoir must me conscious of the changes and take them into effect when writing about their experiences and reflections. Northing But The Truth takes both of these ideas, gives important context to each idea, and emphasizes the importance of using fluidity to write truth about a memoirists self.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/108713.Pimp 

Pimp is a guttural, unflinching, and at times, difficult to read memoir of Iceberg Slim. Iceberg was a pimp for almost thirty years. This is his first hand account of the life he lived, the things he saw, and the things he did. Iceberg does not hold any punches. The language is as authentic as it gets and the scenarios written out are filled with the grime of the life of a pimp. 

It's hard to say what catharsis comes from this book for me. Can I really relate and empathize with a pimp? Even after reading about all of the terrible things that Iceberg did, is it possible to take away a meaningful lesson? I don't think that was the intention of the memoir. It is a window into a life that very few people will ever experience. It's meant to shock, to provoke, to show how far a person can go to survive. Sometimes it feels as though it was written to atone for what he had done. To confront the brutal reality of how he treated these women. 

"You go back and put the coat-hanger pressure on her. If it don't blow her and she stands up for a week, you ought to have half a grand in a week . . . That lazy bitch you got will think she's got competition. Watch the sparks fly from her ass. She'll try to top that bitch that doesn't exist."

This advice was given to Iceberg by another pimp. Treat these women crudely, gaslight, and manipulate. Iceberg uses this book to come to terms with his past and to show the world what not to be. This is ultimately the biggest lesson, but to truly understand these words, you have to read some awful stuff.

Even if these stories are blended with fiction, the memoir still holds it punch. The events may not have happened the exact way it is explained but the emotion and cruelty is all to real.

Transferring the memoir into a blog seems to be a losing battle. Iceberg experienced these things between the 40s and 60s and the paperback format is the most appropriate avenue. Though if need be, the story is told through multiple stories. Each chapter is it's own contained experience with reflection sprinkled in. This could lead to a more chronologically focused blog that would grip readers, having them anticipate each new post with a morbid curiosity.

It's sometimes hard to suggest this book due to is content. The language and scenarios may be difficult for some people to feel comfortable reading. It may be this way, but that is exactly why someone should read it. The novel makes the reader confront the cruel reality we live in. It's a reminder we all need at times, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us.