Pimp - By Iceberg Slim Book Review

jacqueline | Nov. 2, 2022, 10:56 p.m. Practicing Writing

I'd like to start this book review by letting you know I haven't written a book review in many years; this will be the first one in my blog. I really hope to continue reading more books in the attempt at developing my understanding enough to deliver just what I want in my own book. 

After reading the book PIMP, by Iceberg Slim, I made sure to sit down immediately after reading it to write this review. I am still in shock by the ups and downs of a man pursuing the life of a pimp. Not only does Mr. Slims life reflect that of a black man roughly around the 1950's but this was one of a man who chose to educate himself in the language of the streets.  

I don't want to spoil it for you, since I really think it's worth the read, I'd like to share my thoughts on how the story impacted me. The way this book fell into my hands was through my brother. I was cleaning out some of the things he left behind and this book was one of them. He recommended I read it in hopes I'd learn how cruel men can really be. And I'm sorry Mr. Slim ahead of time if I say anything that could potentially offend you, this is just me processing your story. Which is unbelievable and yet true. 

I was definitely taken back by the brutality to women, yet I found myself somehow feeling bad during his downfalls. He would treat women terribly in order to break them into submission. The words he used to describe the different types of drugs was clean, very rarely would there be profanity. Yet you could feel the horrible arguments exchanged between the pimps and the women. It was very well written, I could tell that through his many times in prison, he used that time to read and educate himself. 

The beginning of the story really grabs you and sets the stage for the direction Mr. Slims life takes at a young age. Reading his discovery of the pimping world in his very formative years really shocked me and showed me what a young child is really capable of. Especially exposed to a toxic life. He of course had his run-in with the law young as well. Yet this young man had the determination to pimp and really does actually flourish for quite some time. I'm not a mother yet, but I can only imagine the heartache his mother had to face. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Reading about the women and the way they were manipulated with convincing words that he practiced and tailored over time made me understand why my brother figured I should read it. I also had no idea how big this game really was at the time. It's definitely a staple in history and expresses the struggle the black community faced during oppression and how they went about surviving. I felt bad for the women who fell into sex-work yet in the way Mr. Slim depicted it, it seemed they had no other choice and of course were under a pimp's spell. 

The world seemed a lot smaller in the story, Mr. Slim had traveled with his stable (this was how pimps explained their group of women.) He would be on top of the world at times, then at the very bottom. He talked about the true solitude of a pimp, yet he pursued this life for about forty years. 

There is a hardness that a young man has that he carried with him until his eyes were finally open and his heart eventually softened. The ending really tore me up, I was crying in the library trying to keep quiet, gosh to read that last chapter, especially his last sentence after getting to know the man throughout the book to now. Gosh, wow. And no, don't just go read the last sentence and spoil it for yourself, it won't be as impactful unless you read it from start to finish. 

I really hope I can write a book as riveting as this, although I'll try to keep the eloquence he kept throughout. It was harsh and terrible, and I am so happy he made it out of that life before he died. It was a good read. I highly recommend it. It also gives me hope that if a pimp can write a book...maybe I can actually finish mine. 

Thank you for the inspiration, Iceberg Slim, you've now helped educate a woman for a better future. Looks like things can look up.