MovieChat Forums > Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp (2014) Discussion > Just finished the book

Just finished the book

posted 10 years ago by AfroGeek
3 replies | jump to latest

The writing is very inconsistent. Great in places and mediocre in others. It does paint an interesting picture of ghetto life and how the trauma of childhood lingers throughout adulthood. Beck must've left his wife to flesh out a lot of sections on her own. Beck is intelligent and got a lot out his short college career.

That being said the story seems to include a whole lot of embellishment. Some sections are ernest while others feel like outright fabrication. I don't agree that this is some kind of pimps bible as many of the cameo interviewees say. Still, this is an interesting read and worth it if you're looking for something different and not a gangster fairytale.

Amy: I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!

[–] snr_alejandro_sosa 10 years ago

I'm very surprised to see you say the writing in the book is inconsistent, but of course, each to their own opinion. "Pimp, the story of my life" sold millions of copies and gets very high ratings from most readers.

Regardless of the "feeling" you got, there is virtually no embellishment in the story and there is plenty of evidence in the movie Portrait of a Pimp. From criminal records, photos ect. Having personally interviewed Beck's family ect. The "Iceberg Slim the Lost Interviews" book also backs up a lot of the story, like who Sweet was.

Slim never claimed to be at the top of his game or to have written a bible for it, he specifically stated that he was "not the best among my peers" and that the best he had known were much more cruel and he had a "residual sucker" in him.

[–] Mudflap 8 years ago

I loved what Chris Rock said in the film that "you can open up any of his books to any page and read a few sentences and it will instantly grab you" It is absolutely true, and I have never found another author anywhere who can match ice berg slim for that. In that sense he is consistency personified.

[–] 8 years ago

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