Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member

Last updated
Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member
Monster Kody.jpg
Cover of the first edition.
Author Sanyika Shakur
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Non-fiction
Publisher Grove Atlantic Books
Penguin Books (original trade paperback publication)
Publication date
May 1993
Media typePrint (Hardcover
Trade paperback)
ISBN 978-0-87113-535-3 (hardcover)
9780140232257 (original trade paperback)
9780802141446 (trade paperback reprint)
364.1/092 B 21
LC Class HV6439.U7 L774 1993
Followed byT.H.U.G. L.I.F.E. (2008) 

Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member is a memoir about gang life written in prison by Sanyika Shakur.

Contents

Background

When asked how Sanyika Shakur got his gang nickname "Monster" he replied, "Well, America produced me," but he basically said that he beat a man so badly that the police said whoever did it was a monster, and the name stuck. [1] He also blamed the community he used to live in as the reason why he joined a gang. He said, "The community as a whole is sick," and continued to blame his environment for turning him into a criminal. [1]

In a book review by Counter Culture, they said, "Shakur does not blame his mother or his school for becoming a young gang banger." [2] Shakur also attributed his "understanding of life" to "Afro-centric Islam." [2] Larry Taylor wrote,"Older gangsters set the example, cultivate and train the younger boys, children." He said the reason children get into gangs is because of older gang members and that is why Shakur got involved. [3]

Major themes

Critics suggested that one of the main themes of Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member is that violence does not solve anything. Coleman Jr. stated that Monster is filled with "senseless violence" and "gang warfare." [4] These two similar elements of the book fill the memoir and result in death, injury, and jail sentences. Metcalf mentioned a few themes of the book as "self-improvement, aspiration, education, and empowerment of minorities." [5] Overall the book displays violence and power obviously throughout.

Style

Kakutani, from The New York Times, wrote, "The volume attests to Mr. Shakur's journalistic eye for observation," and has "novelistic skills as a story-teller." [6] Metcalf mentioned, "The stylistic features of Monster in terms of its narrative structure help the reader to understand the author's social, political, and cultural messages (regarding nonviolence and escaping the gang)." [5] Chill wrote, "Through Shakur's free flowing style," it is easy to read and called it "Ghetto Poetry." [7]

Reception

Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member has received multiple positive reviews in the past several years. In one of Josephine Metcalf's passages from her journal, The Journal of American Culture, she says it is "noteworthy for its emphasis on both the frisson of violent gang exploits and the sober salutary reflection of politicized and educated hindsight." [5] Another positive review came from Michiko Kakutani, writer for The New York Times, in which she wrote that Monster is a "galvanic book" and even titles her article by describing the book as "Illuminating" and "Raw." [6] Kakutani also praised Shakur's "quick, matter-of-fact prose" and wrote that his violent life was "memorably depicted." [8] [9] Chill reviews this book and said it "answers many questions to how someone actually becomes actively involved in a gang" and is "introspective and analytical." Chill also stated, "Some will find it nearly impossible to put down." [7]

Monster also received a few negatives reviews. Metcalf quotes David Brumble, who says he"scrutinizes Monster in terms of classical tribal warrior cultures, [and] ... believes that Shakur's preprison years are the most generative." [5]

Publication history

In 1992, at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Morgan Entrekin, publisher of Grove Atlantic Inc., announced that he had acquired world publication rights to Shakur's memoir, setting off a storm of interest in the book as an authentic document of the urban African-American experience. A convention-goer from Sweden was quoted as saying, "We see so much of the violence of the American inner city; now here's a voice that comes from inside that can explain it to us." The rights to publish in at least seven foreign countries were quickly sold. [10]

Shakur claims to have made US$800,500 from writing Monster. [11] Shakur also changed dramatically after publication and went back to criminal life with another sentence to jail in 2007 and many previous criminal activities. He went to jail for violating parole. [12]

Related Research Articles

A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suge Knight</span> American music executive (born 1965)

Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. is an American music executive and convicted felon who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central figure in gangsta rap's commercial success in the 1990s. This feat is attributed to the record label's first two album releases: Dr. Dre's The Chronic in 1992 and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle in 1993. Knight is serving a 28-year sentence in prison for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015.

<i>Prozac Nation</i> Memoir by Elizabeth Wurtzel

Prozac Nation is a memoir by American writer Elizabeth Wurtzel published in 1994. The book describes the author's experiences with atypical depression, her own character failings and how she managed to live through particularly difficult periods while completing college and working as a writer. Prozac is a trade name for the antidepressant fluoxetine. Wurtzel originally titled the book I Hate Myself and I Want To Die but her editor convinced her otherwise. It ultimately carried the subtitle Young and Depressed in America: A Memoir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlando Anderson</span> Prime suspect in the murder of Tupac Shakur (1974–1998)

Orlando Tive "Baby Lane" Anderson was an American gang member suspected in the murder of Tupac Shakur. Anderson belonged to the California-based gang known as the South Side Compton Crips. Detective Tim Brennan of the Compton Police Department filed an affidavit naming Anderson as a suspect; he denied involvement and was never charged. Anderson's uncle, Duane Keith Davis, was charged with Shakur's murder on September 29, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michiko Kakutani</span> American critic, writer (b. 1955)

Michiko Kakutani is an American writer and retired literary critic, best known for reviewing books for The New York Times from 1983 to 2017. In that role, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1998.

<i>Colors</i> (film) 1988 film directed by Dennis Hopper

Colors is a 1988 American police procedural action crime film starring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall, and directed by Dennis Hopper. The film takes place in the gang ridden neighborhoods of Los Angeles: late-1980s South Central Los Angeles, Echo Park, Westlake and East Los Angeles. The film centers on Bob Hodges (Duvall), an experienced Los Angeles Police Department C.R.A.S.H. officer, and his rookie partner, Danny McGavin (Penn), who try to stop the gang violence between the Bloods, the Crips, and Hispanic street gangs. Colors relaunched Hopper as a director 19 years after Easy Rider, and inspired discussion over its depiction of gang life and gang violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crips</span> Street gang from Los Angeles, California

The Crips are an alliance of street gangs that is based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips began as an alliance between two autonomous gangs, and developed into a loosely connected network of individual "sets", often engaged in open warfare with one another. Its members have traditionally worn blue clothing since around 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Bass</span> American football player (1937–2006)

Richard Lee Bass was an American football fullback who played for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) from 1960 to 1969. He played college football for the Pacific Tigers.

Bastards of the Party is a 2005 American documentary film directed by former Bloods gang-member Cle Sloan and produced by Antoine Fuqua. The film explores the creation of two of Los Angeles's most notorious gangs, the Crips and the Bloods, from the perspective of the Los Angeles community. The film also denounces gang violence and presents meaningful solutions from former gang members to stop this problem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanyika Shakur</span> American author (1963–2021)

Sanyika Shakur, also known by his former street moniker Monster or Monster Kody, was an American author and former gangster. He was a member of the Los Angeles-based Eight Tray Gangster Crips. He got his nickname as a 13-year-old gang member when he beat and stomped a robbery victim until he was disfigured. Shakur claimed to have reformed in prison, joined the Republic of New Afrika movement, and wrote a 1993 memoir called Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member.

Brian Masters is a British writer, best known for his biographies of serial killers. He has also written books on French literature, the British aristocracy, and theatre, and has worked as a translator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colton Simpson</span> American criminal and writer

Colton Simpson is a former Crip who is serving a 126-year prison sentence under California's three-strikes law.

<i>True Compass</i> Book by Edward Kennedy

True Compass is the posthumous memoir of United States Senator Edward M. Kennedy that was released September 14, 2009, by Twelve, a division of the Hachette book group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Hilburn</span> American journalist

Robert Hilburn is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As critic and music editor at the Los Angeles Times from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays and profiles appeared in publications around the world. Hilburn has since written a memoir and best-selling biographies of Johnny Cash and Paul Simon. He was a member of the nominating committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for more than twenty years, and lives in Los Angeles.

<i>Who I Am</i> (book) 2012 memoir by Pete Townshend

Who I Am is a memoir by rock guitarist and composer Pete Townshend of the Who. It was published by HarperCollins in October 2012 in both book and e-book format, plus an unabridged 15-CD audiobook read by Townshend. The book chronicles Townshend's upbringing in London, the formation and evolution of the Who, and his struggles with rock stardom and drugs and alcohol. The title is a play on words, referring to the Who's hit single, "Who Are You" as well as the album of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Tupac Shakur</span> Murder of an American rapper in 1996

On September 7, 1996, at 11:15 p.m. (PDT), Tupac Shakur, a 25-year old American rapper, was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The shooting occurred when the car carrying Shakur was stopped at a red light at East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane.

<i>Moonglow</i> (novel) Book by Michael Chabon

Moonglow is a 2016 novel by Michael Chabon. The book chronicles the life of Chabon's grandfather, a WW2 soldier, engineer and rocket enthusiast who marries a troubled Jewish survivor from France and lives a challenging, wandering life in postwar America. Chabon tells the story using a mixture of strict memoir and creative fiction writing. The narrator functions as a proxy for the author, Chabon.

<i>M Train</i> (book)

M Train is a 2015 memoir written by Patti Smith. Smith's audiobook recording of M Train earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Spoken Word Album.

Duane Keith "Keefe D" Davis is an American gang member. He was charged with involvement in the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Side Compton Crips</span> Gang in southern California

The South Side Compton Crips are a "set" of the Crips gang alliance, based in Compton, California. This gang is known for the murder of Tupac Shakur.

References

  1. 1 2 "Monster Kody Scott aka Sanyika Shakur- 83 Gangster Crip". Streetgangs. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Book Review: MONSTER The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member". Counter Culture. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  3. ↑ Taylor, Larry. "Monster: The Autobiography of an LA Gang Member". Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  4. ↑ Coleman (1994). "Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member". ETC.: A Review of General Semantics. 51 (2): 238. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Metcalf, Josephine (December 2011). "Monster, Dreams, and Cultural Studies: Exploring Gang Memoir and Political Autobiography". The Journal of American Culture. 34 (4): 391–401. doi:10.1111/j.1542-734x.2011.00788.x. ProQuest   238434921.
  6. 1 2 Kakutani, Michiko (23 July 1993). "Book of the Times; Illuminating Gang Life in Los Angeles: It's Raw". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  7. 1 2 Chill (16 June 1994). "Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member". Call & Post.
  8. ↑ Kakutani, Michiko (2008-02-26). "However Mean the Streets, Have an Exit Strategy". New York Times Book Review . Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  9. ↑ Kakutani, Michiko (1993-07-23). "Illuminating Gang Life in Los Angeles: It's Raw". New York Times Book Review . Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  10. ↑ Horowitz, Mark (December 1993). "In Search of Monster". The Atlantic Monthly . The Atlantic Monthly Group. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  11. ↑ "Monster Kody (OG Crip)- Talking About The Book "Monster"". VoiceOfReezun. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
  12. ↑ "An Interview with Sanyika Shakur". kersplebedeb. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.