Reviews with content warning for Violence - Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall

33 reviews

lilawsahar's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

4.5

I learned so much from dr. Rebecca Hall!! I love that her work is intersectional: it talks about the black and female experience as a slave. I didn’t know that Africans revolted on slave ships and I especially didn’t know that there was more likely to be a revolt with more women on the ship. I am so thankful that she decided to make her dissertation into a graphic novel.

Thank you for taking us on your dissertation journey with you. I am sorry that even in your research you are facing racism for uncovering the truth.

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moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective

5.0

I expected to like this because I am enjoy graphic nonfiction and thought that this would be an interesting topic -- and one that isn't often discussed. My expectations were fairly high but this totally exceeded them.

This isn't just the story of a few revolts, it is also the author's story of being a Black woman historian studying this legacy. She does not shy away from the real issues that she faced trying to study this. She talks about the barriers to archives because of misogynoir at the time (men not recording details about women) and as it lives on today (being demeaned or even refused entry to some archives). She also goes into some of the weight of learning about such tremendous violence and loss that is a part of her history.

Throughout, she also shares the story of several women throughout history. She shares the story of women leading several revolts in the colonies as well as on the slave ships. She also discusses her connection to her ancestors, even sharing her grandmother’s story of resilience. Some instances where there are no details beyond the acknowledgement that an attempt at revolt was made, she gave some of these women a story. She wraps up the book talking about ancestor and the presence of history.

This was such a powerful book!

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randisworld's review against another edition

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challenging sad tense fast-paced

4.0

I enjoyed this book and the illustration but I thought there was going to be more about the uprisings. This is as much of a story of the author doing her research as it is the research itself. Not what I expected but still an interesting and informative read.

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blood_egg's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

This one is definitely a hard read but worth it. Every page is packed with information on an often unseen aspect of history as well as killer art. I’ve come back to this book several times in order to dig deeper on a piece of information that Hall brings up. Which if a book can do that is a win in my mind. I didn’t give it a full marking because I want more! Hall’s authorial voice is strong especially paired with the drawings. I hope she publishes more!

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