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Author: Kamaul David

ISBN: 978-1-4196-7169-2

Work-life Memoir Is Candid And Humorous

Kamaul David, crew chief for a Boston-area moving company, can boast of accomplishments that include earning a degree from the University of Massachusetts; buying a house and paying off his student loans by the age of twenty-seven; and running the Boston marathon in three hours, twenty-one minutes. His newest accomplishment, an anecdotal work-life memoir, reveals an impressive talent for writing. Colorful characters, hilarious observations, and lyric poetry make up this entertaining narrative.

David takes us into the sweat-soaked day of a professional mover: grunts, bumps and mover’s jargon a plenty. It’s a demanding job—especially for the rookies, who find they are up against a push-‘em-til-they-drop hazing from the veterans. It’s brutal and full of male aggression—like when one of the veterans causes “accidents” to some younger guys so that he will be assured of being called in to work in the morning; but David also recounts those fraternal moments when four men work as a team and accomplish impressive feats of physicality.

David’s witticisms add a delightful element: “Rhino-man had stolen Barney’s moment yet again. It wasn’t that Rhino-man was purposely trying to let all the air out of Barney’s party balloons. Rhino-man just had a way of making sure all the balloons Barney inflated had pictures of Rhino-man with his pants down making his butt smile.”

The flashbacks to David’s childhood, and the scenes with his family, interspersed within the memoir, give the reader a good sense of who David is. There is one part, in which the movers encounter disturbing domestic abuse, that I thought didn’t fit in with the rest of the high-spirited tone of the memoir.

A last word for the nine poems: I like that the poetry is very sensory. “Her backless cat suit…hugs her body’s flesh tighter than any anaconda could/Displaying every muscle and feminine curvature…” Most of the poems express noble sentiments, and have a pensive, thoughtful mood; even the one that dealt with frustration (Not Today) had a soft tone. In The Arena and It’s Time To Walk Alone were my favorites.

The above review was contributed by: Sonia Reppe: Sonia holds a B.A. in vocal performance, gives voice lessons in the Chicago area and spends most of her time reading and taking care of her daughter, husband and cats. Click Here To Read More of Sonia's Reviews.

Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Look What I Found Under The Bed