The Coldest Winter Ever (1999) by Sister Souljah

 1,001 Novels: A Library of America

The Coldest Winter Ever (1999)

by Sister Souljah

Brooklyn, New York

Brooklyn/Queens/Long Island/Staten Island: 20/26

New York: 97/103

 The official page for the 1,001 Novels: A Library of America map has the wrong publication date (2005) for The Coldest Winter Ever, Sister Souljah's best selling and in many ways pioneering novel from the "street literature" genre or "Urban Fiction" as it is known to differentiate itself from the 18th and 19th century tradition of selling pamphlets on the streets of cities like London, Paris and Berlin. There are some continuities- the idea of a criminal biography is present across all times and places.  I certainly remember Sister Souljah from my childhood- I was an avid listener to Public Enemy when she joined after Professor Griff was "fired" for antisemitic remarks, and I remember Bill Clinton attacking her, which gave rise to the idea of a "Sister Souljah moment" i.e. repudiating a putative ally.

  After reading the book, I realized that Souljah is a long time friend of Puff Daddy and was actually responsible for running his home for minor children, Daddy's House Social Programs and if any representatives of the Southern District of New York are investigating Diddy for racketeering they should certainly be asking questions of Sister Souljah about what went on at Daddy's House.  Here's an excerpt from a paywalled 1999 LA Times article detailing Daddy's House trafficking:

    There is a Daddy’s House International Travel Group that takes 10 to 15 of the programs’ students each year on a trip. Last year it was to South Africa.

     Anyway, I mention that because this book is frequently and graphically about underage girls having sex with adult men.  Winter- the name of the narrator and protagonist is a 17 year old going on 40 child of the Brooklyn projects, the daughter of local crack kingpin Ricky Santiaga.  The novel picks up with everything going splendidly- Winter is Daddy's little princess, she has everything she could want, etc.  When Ricky proudly announces that the family is moving to a suburban mansion on Long Island, everyone but Winter knows that a downfall is coming.

   The downfall is swift and Federal- although her narrator is young and considers herself 'street smart,' readers of classic literature will recognize her as a "rake's progress" type of girlie making her downward descent into an underworld.  It's not hard to see why this book was a hit with it's audience- which is probably not an audience that spends much money on books- which makes Souljah's achievement impressive.  I was also impressed by Susan Straight's decision to put this book on her list of titles- it's the edgiest book on the entire list so far.  I was astonished that my paperback copy arrived via the YA section of the Los Angeles Public Library.  I'm a big supporter of libraries but holy cow, this book's narrator describes her 12 year old self having her "tunnel painfully widened" by a big n-word male genitalia in addition to the graphic descriptions of crack addiction and general urban ennui.  

  I mean I applaud the prose and the authenticity of her narrator but it's hard to imagine giving it to a 12 year old to read.