I Know Why the Caged Bird SingsI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Score Classic
What it's about
When Maya Angelou was three, she and her older brother Bailey were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, a small, segregated town in Arkansas. This first volume of her memoirs follows her childhood there, a traumatic stay with her mother in St. Louis, when she was raped by her mother's boyfriend and stopped speaking for years, her move to San Francisco as a teenager, and the birth of her son at sixteen.
Why it's worth reading
It was a #1 New York Times bestseller and is one of the most influential memoirs in American literature. It's beautifully written, full of warmth and humor despite its pain.
You'll love it if you liked
Black Boy: A Record of Youth and Childhood
The Color Purple
Educated: A MemoirGood to know
It describes the rape of a child and racism. It's often taught in schools and has often been challenged.
By the numbers
- Readers91 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics59 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller64 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #26 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #37 of the 762 classics we rank
- #132 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story
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Quick answers
Is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings worth reading?
Yes. It was a #1 New York Times bestseller and is one of the most influential memoirs in American literature. It ranks #132 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 85.7 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings about?
When Maya Angelou was three, she and her older brother Bailey were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, a small, segregated town in Arkansas. This first volume of her memoirs follows her childhood there, a traumatic stay with her mother in St. Louis, when she was raped by her mother's boyfriend and stopped speaking for years, her move to San Francisco as a teenager, and the birth of her son at sixteen.
How long does it take to read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
About 8 hours (309 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
If you liked it, try Black Boy: A Record of Youth and Childhood by Richard Wright, The Color Purple by Alice Walker or Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover.