The Coldest Winter Ever : Book Review


Book Review

 

Title: The Coldest Winter Ever

Author: Sister Souljah

Genre: Urban Fiction 

 

After a discussion on the topic of Urban Fiction this semester, I was compelled to pick up a classic in this genre. 

 

The Coldest Winter Ever chronicles the story of 17-year-old Winter Santiaga, daughter of Ricky Santiaga who is one of the biggest drug dealers. She thrives and takes advantage of her name, stature and sexuality. This rich spoilt brat’s life takes a turn when her mother is shot and the FBI arrests her father. Things take a turn for the worse when her family possessions are confisticated and when she discovers her father’s mistress and baby. Winter is enraged and determined to seek stature. Amidst her roller coaster is a series of bad choices, pain, suffering and betrayal.  

 

There is rawness in the voice that is manifested in the roughness and raunchiness in the language. It contains considerable amount of lingo that is typical of a book under the street lit genre. Needless to say, the dialect is dominant, lending authenticity to the Afro-American characters. The characterization and the setting are strong points in the plot. Despite Winter’s boldness and frivolous involvement with men including one from the enemy camp, she manages to elicit a little bit of sympathy. 

 

It’s interesting to see Sister Souljah play a fictional character in the book as a hip hop artist. Themes of violence, power and sexuality are touched upon here. This coming of age story is compelling despite the crassness in the prose. Probably the unsophistication in the language is one of the reasons why Urban Fiction ranks low in comparison to other genres. 

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