I read this book over 10 years ago, and it was an instant favourite. In fact, I've never met a person who read this book and didn't automatically crown it as the best book they had ever read. This story was phenomenal. It was groundbreaking. This book, these characters, and this author were the foundation of many great things to come.Now despite loving this book so much, I actually didn't remember much about it when I found myself ready to read Sister Souljah's latest novel, "A Deeper Love Inside." So with my autographed copy in hand, I realized that I couldn't read Porsche Santiaga's story until I had revisited the journey of her older sister, Winter.It was like I was reading the book for the first time, all over again. All I could remember that Winter was beautiful, and the story was gritty and an exhilarating page-turning journey...but the details had been forgotten. After entering the world of Midnight and his family and adventures in Souljah's following novels, the only things I remembered about Winter and her tale were the basics: she was stunning, she came from a powerful family, and she was someone that everyone wanted to be.As a 30-something, now re-introduced to Winter Santiaga and her tale, I was surprised at how my perspective had changed over the decade since I had last read these words. I recalled Sister Souljah, during her visit to Toronto last month, saying that so many readers approach her saying how they want to BE Winter...and I'm pretty sure back in the day when I read the book, I may have shared the same sentiments.However, reading the book now was a different journey. While it was beyond interesting to see how Winter enjoyed being a "bad bitch"...I could honestly feel the difference in understanding between what that would mean to a teenager or someone in their early 20s, and what that means to a grown woman.This time around, I really identified with Sister Souljah's character in the book: she was in the midst of the celebrity world, and familiar with life around her from all sides of the spectrum, however she kept her cool. I could appreciate what it means for Souljah to put herself into the story, and send her message without "sending a message."The character of Sister Souljah was a fabulous contrast to Winter, because she essentially had the access, the power, and the connections that Winter wanted...however she had obtained them through honest means and respectfully so. This time around I really felt how COLD Winter was, because despite being presented with alternate methods of achieving success, with solid people, and with genuine opportunity, she still remained bad-to-the-bone and still was all about self.I couldn't empathize with Winter. And the amazing thing about having a main character that you can't relate to or even root for, is that you're able to see their perspective, hear their voice, and know their challenges...but still maintain a separate sense of right or wrong, despite their choices. So while Winter was ridiculously interesting, and it was fascinating to see her achieve, and see her manipulate and work to get what she wanted...deep down, as a reader, I still knew that what she was doing was not right...and may not last or benefit her in the end.Of course, the lesson is learned by the end of the book, at least by the reader if not Winter herself. You can clearly see that deceit, and manipulation doesn't pay in the end. You can see that "it all falls down" and her father's empire crumbles, and she (as her father's daughter) also meets her demise due to the nature of her business associations, and the cold-heartededness in which she approaches life.The message is clear: nothing lasts forever. Especially when rooted in deceit and destruction. And I believe after reading the book the first time, I was probably disappointed that Winter didn't end up the bride of a movie star or famous rapper, or the glamorous and important woman she desired to be. I'm pretty sure as a twenty-something year old, I had rooted for Winter, and hoped that she would have found what she was looking for: permanent financial stability. This time around...I knew that justice had been served.Now my views on Winter as a woman did not alter my reading experience in any way, despite how my feelings towards her had changed. It changed my level of empathy for Lana Santiaga, and for the twins, and there was an element of sadness attached to it as this exciting and important family fell apart.The book is still fabulous, and will always be a classic piece of literature. Since discovering Sister Souljah's writing back then, I have still yet to find another author that tells a story like she does. What I most love is that the book took on practically two different meanings for me, based on where I was in my life.The book was the same, but the context was different. The lessons were the same, but the spirit of it was different. The level of self-reflection was different. The value of choices, and association, priorities and self-worth were now evident. These are lessons that were loud and clear, as a result of Winter's journey, and lessons that will manifest differently with each reader.Like any book, the meaning, and the lessons will of course vary depending on who picks it up, and how the words speak to them. So again, I'm now looking at this book and realizing the layers of messaging, and examples, and the context of various situations, and how much thought was put into the construction of this plot and the sub-themes that were communicated as a result.It's more than just Winter, her beauty, her boyfriends, and her vanity. This book is representative of so many woman, both young and old, who allow themselves to focus on the wrong strengths and strive towards achieving the wrong type of security in life. This book is a testament to all women about what is truly important, and what qualities should be exalted and cherished.God bless Winter Santiaga, because her story was the foundation of so many branches of storytelling and the creation of so many other rich characters, and interesting locations, and juicy plots. Her story was the spring board for an entire network of character development, and it's so crazy looking back at the book that "started it all" and seeing how the layers of the story are set.Through Winter, we meet the Santiaga family: the twins Lexus and Mercedes, the father Ricky, the mother Lana, and all that they represent. We meet young Porsche, and her silent-yet-stunning presence at the end of the book serves as a subtle cliffhanger of more to come. We are introduced to the strong and intelligent Midnight, and get to learn about him. Through Winter's eyes, opinions, and activities, an entire world of interaction is established. And it was so important to see this society and their choices through her eyes because she is so representative of the world they live in, and the miseducation and guidance of many other young girls.I enjoyed reading this book again, and TRULY look forward to seeing this movie production unfold. While in Toronto, Sister Souljah mentioned that the pre-production of the film was underway, and already I am anticipating who will play Winter, how the characters will look on-screen, and how the story will translate live.This book, and her others are so influential, without being preachy. So cultural, without being "ghetto" or excessively "urban." She's a fantastic writer, and each time I finish reading one of Souljah's books and close the back cover, I am reminded of the power of story telling, and how a great writer will leave you feeling like you want to change your life, make better choices, and be more aware of your surroundings. Through the eyes and interactions with Souljah's characters, I am able to walk away with a better understanding of human nature, and also self-reflect.This is why her books are so fantastic. It's more than just the story, it's the message and the method that speak to you long after the last word's are read. Literary brilliance.Written by Stacey Marie Robinson for Kya Publishing's "Urban Toronto Tales" blog.
I would be rating this book more highly if I hadn't read the explanatory notes at the back! It had me struggling to drop off at night as I couldn't wait to find out what Winter would do next to recover from the disintegration of her life as the over-indulged daughter of a very rich Brooklyn drug dealer. Despite being almost a caricature of materialism and self-interest, Winter is so inventive and sharp I found it impossible not to root for her through most of her exploits, though she hurt many people terribly along the way. The tale is transparently cautionary, but boldly told entirely from the viewpoint of the sinner.Sinner is the right word: Souljah's position is one of religious morality, as became clearer in the endnotes. Knowing sanctimony wouldn't entice readers, she took a smarter tack. There is little overt moralising and certainly no misplaced institutional sympathy. This in the voice of Souljah herself, who appears as herself in the book:Drugs is a government game… A way to rob us of our best black men, our army. Everyone who plays the game loses. Then they get you right back where we started, in slavery! Then they get to say "This time you did it to yourself."Quite.I did find it much too easy to forget that Winter is a rape victim: telling the story from her viewpoint meant that her hypersexualisation was naturalized somewhat. Sure, teenagers may have raging libidos and maybe I'm the one being sanctimonious, but… were all the sex scenes and descriptions of teenage black girls' bodies needed?I was impressed with one scene in particular. Winter, at sixteen, is an expert self-stylist, clad in designer fashion, expensive accessories, and fancy feminine underwear, with 'good hair', well-kept hands and feet, no make up on her flawless skin (just lipstick). Her mother has taught her that 'beauty is a full time occupation'. I've heard feminists describe the standards of appearance women are expected to meet as 'the patriarchal fuckability test' (though discussions around this often lack recognition of the way black women are dehumanised and othered by the construction of femininity, female desirability and beauty standards) and when such a test literally happens in the book, it's a dramatic demonstration of how Winter's personal standards of self-presentation are maintained by white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.I also thought that the book was making a nuanced critique of the way hypermasculinity for young black males is reinforced: not only do we see so many of them behaving in accordance with the stereotype, we also have Winter's voice defining male requirements and brutally, poignantly enforcing them where she has the power to. Her real crush is a different matter: Midnight is above the game, self-contained, disciplined, and apparently not interested in Winter, who firmly believes she is irresistable. Yet Midnight makes some severe, aridly misogynistic remarks, so I figured Souljah had in mind a mutually redemptive meeting of souls for them.I was wrong though; in the endnotes Souljah reveals that Midnight is her ideal of masculinity and 'the heart of the novel'. There's a disturbing section after her notes written from his viewpoint in which he says 'homosexuality never existed in my country' which underlines a homophobic comment from Souljah within the novel, and another horribly erasing remark in the notes about black men being led astray from 'natural sexuality and gender'. I think my heart would be broken if I were a queer black man who'd enjoyed the book up to that point. He also says 'my father taught me women are 100% emotion' so their advice and opinions should be ignored. In short, some seriously indigestible matter at the end thoroughly spoiled the meal for me.
What do You think about The Coldest Winter Ever (2006)?
AAMBC Book Review, May 26, 2008 You can't say your a true book reader, if you havent read this book by sister souljah. One of the best street novels you would ever want to get your hands on. Winter Santiago is a spoiled brat and when her world is turned into a full 360 she has to find a way to survive. If you think you can use your body to get you what you want, your are in dullison. But Winter thought she could. When it is all said and done Winter is in a place that she never thought she would be. But with a father as a drug lord and her mother no where to be found, you can pretty much see where her life is headed. Learn from the life of Winter Santiago, this is a brilliant book.
—African Americans on the Move Book Club
I like to read outside of my comfort zone. But this far out I probably needed a bathysphere. And now I got the bends.Imagine you're reading On Cheshil Beach by Ian McEwan, and after the famous wedding night scene a friend of Florence told her that her and Edward should really go and see this highly recommended marriage guidance councellor, so they decide to give it a shot, and it turns out to be a guy called Ian McEwan, who is this lovely wise person who they instantly trust. And he dispenses his wisdom to them. And their lives are better. Then imagine Ian McEwan writes an 80 page commentary on his novel and includes it as an appendix, pointing out for less perspicacious readers who represents what and the moral inferences you should be – er – inferring as you read. Would we be telling Ian McEwan that he had an ego the size of the Titanic and clearly just as fragile? And that he had zero trust in his readers? And that he'll never win the Booker Prize again? Yes, I think so.So all of these things are true about The Coldest Winter Ever but as well as being true they're completely irrelevant. When Sister Souljah writes herself into her own novel as a character and then explains point by point what her novel means and what all the characters represent in the appendix at the back, your jaw drops and you realise you're not in Kansas anymore. (When I say Kansas, I don't mean literally Kansas, you see, I mean we're not having the usual novel-as-art reading experience. Did you understand that's what I meant? Good, let's hurry on then.)So this book is Moll Flanders meets The Wire. Street-smart young hussy has to hustle like crazy when her entire family is taken into custody because her daddy is a drug baron, and she's left high & dry with no dough and nowhere to stay. Much hilarity ensues, life lessons are learned. And when Sister Souljah is around, boy, those lessons are LEARNED and there will be QUESTIONS AFTERWARDS.I DIDN'T KNOW WHO SISTER SOULJAH WAS BUT NOW I DOI did some googling and holy shit! Where have I been all this time? Don't I read the papers? SS turns out to be an amazing and extremely formidable intellect who is not just a novelist but a major social activist, former hip hop artist (which is where the daft name came from, she's really Lisa Williamson), film producer, lecturer, and all round 24-hour opinionator about race relations in America, as for instance in the following well known quote"I have never met a good white person."In 1992 she was interviewed after the LA riots in April 1992 :SS : Black people from the underclass and the so-called lower class do not respect the institutions of white America, which is why you can cart as many black people out on the television as you want to tell people in the lower and underclass that that was stupid, but they don't care what you say. You don't care about THEIR lives, haven't added anything to the quality of their lives, haven't affectuated anything for the quality of their lives, and then expect them to respond to your opinions which mean absolutely nothing? Why would they?Q: But even the people themselves who were perpetrating thatviolence, did they think it was wise? Was that wise, reasonedaction?A: Yeah, it was wise. I mean, if black people kill blackpeople every day, why not have a week and kill white people? Youunderstand what I'm saying? In other words, white people, thisgovernment, and that mayor were well aware of the fact that blackpeople were dying every day in Los Angeles under gang violence.So if you're a gang member and you would normally be killingsomebody, why not kill a white person?No surprise, this got her into so much trouble and I can imagine invitation lists were quickly examined and if her name was found on them a big bold line was drawn through it. Vilified by all and sundry, she made her one and only album, 360 Degrees of Power, later the same year, which contains this track – MTV banned it and I can kind of see why!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcWgPE...And finally!I found this one youtube clip of her in some towering rant, as usual, and you have to check it out. I don't think I've ever heard a public speaker so articulately reducing a room full of the great and the good to trembling awestruck silence. This woman is truly amazing.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-Dzei...
—Paul Bryant
Gosh, this took me forever to read. But in the end I enjoyed it. Some places the story was slow paced, and I was turned off by the ignorant main character, Winter. But overrall, Souljah did a fantastic job weaving a story about about the ghetto, the struggle, and the hustle of New York. The characters all had interesting, distinctive, unique personalities, and there are many places in the story, you will find yourself relating to. The book leaves a lot of things unresolved, and that always bothers me. I also thought the ending was rushed. Souljah introduced several characters and several conflicts, but didn't quite allow everything to fully resolve. Regardless, this story is eye opening and completely honest.
—Taylor
