Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

At just eighteen months old, Shane McCrae's life took a dramatic turn when he was separated from his parents and relocated to suburban Texas. Born to a mother of white heritage and a father of Black descent, his maternal grandparents, driven by their desire to conceal his Black identity, made the heart-wrenching decision to spirit him away. In the ensuing years, they exerted significant influence and control over Shane, convinced that they were acting in his best interest.

While his grandmother held a deep affection for Shane, she harboured an intense aversion toward people who shared his racial background. Meanwhile, his grandfather vigilantly policed any perceived indications of Blackness that manifested in his grandson. Within the confines of their home, the mere existence of Shane's Black identity became a subject of profound contention, forever framed as a burdensome aspect of his identity.

With such a harrowing read, it is good to go in with as much of an empty mind as you can and get a real feel for what the author is conveying.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if it were in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

"Pulling the Chariot of the Sun" by Shane McCrae is a harrowing and introspective memoir that delves into the author's personal experience of a kidnapping. McCrae's storytelling is raw and emotionally charged, offering a profound and thought-provoking narrative.

I have always marveled at the autobiographies that give all the details about the biographer's experiences at a very young age. It is obvious that they are their memories completed with the information they have gathered through their families, relatives, etcetera.
This is not the case. That is why I believe this is a realistic and honest biography. The author takes the memories he has of his childhood and relates them as he feels them, and that is why he does not know if they are at six, seven or eight years old, or even if he is misinterpreting those memories.
I think there is a lot of repetition in this book and that has to do with its poetic aspect, already present in the title. The reader of standard biographies must find it tiring to read, which is not my case.
It is true that I would have liked to know more about the kidnapping itself, the motivation, which is not at all clear, the relationship of his parents and, above all, how he became such a good writer. Perhaps he will repay the debt in a more conventional biography.

Siempre me ha maravillado las autobiografías que dan todo lujo de detalles acerca de la vivencia de la biografiados a la más tierna edad. Es evidente que son sus recuerdos completados con la información que hayan reunido a través de familias, allegados, etcétera.
Éste no es el caso. Es por eso por lo que creo que se trata de una biografía realista y honesta. El autor agarra los recuerdos que tiene de su infancia y los relata según los siente, y por ello él no sabe si son a los seis, a los siete o a los ocho años y ni siquiera si está mal interpretando esos recuerdos.
Pienso que hay muchísimas repeticiones en este libro y que tienen que ver con su vertiente poética, ya presente en el título. Al lector de biografías al uso debe resultarle cansada la lectura, no es mi caso.
Es cierto que hubiera querido saber más sobre el secuestro en sí, la motivación, que no queda para nada aclarada, la relación de sus padres y ,sobre, todo cómo llegó a convertirse en tan buen escritor. Quizás nos pague la deuda en una biografía más convencional.