Reviews - Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America 1619-2019

663 reviews for:

Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America 1619-2019

I am so relieved to finally be done this book! I struggggled through this book. Odell had some interesting ideas and covered such a wide variety of topics that I am interested in, but I found it very disengaging. Even after only just finishing it, I am struggling to remember what it was about: I often had to reread pages or paragraphs a few times to (at least partially) absorb what it was talking about. I would maybe recommend this book to somebody struggling with climate grief or climate anxiety, if they are open to reading an academic, theoretical exploration. I was expecting something a bit more practical and applicable to my life, and it wasn’t that.

cbrosen610's review against another edition

3.5

informative reflective medium-paced

This was a good audiobook! Parts of it I found super interesting (and parts of it I kind of zoned out during). I liked the premise of questioning the value and morality we place on time and being productive, and thought she made some interesting connections and points.

Parts of it felt like they should be a different book (like she gets into a whole thing about climate change, which was interesting but felt like a different thesis). Overall, enjoyed listening while I worked, and I think a couple things will stick with me from it.

phoenixs's review against another edition

2.0

I love Jenny Odell’s first book, How to Do Nothing and its way of combining a meditative tone with astute analysis of various interconnected subjects. But this second book feels rushed and cobbled together from many citations without much original thought on Odell’s part. Often throughout the book it felt as though the author was overly reliant on juxtaposed citations and letting those speak for themselves, with just a tiny bit of personal insight tacked on.

This felt a lot like some essays I’ve written for school that suffered from (ironically) an expedited deadline. My impression is that although there’s flashes of Odell’s usual brilliance here, it feels like her publishers were pushing her to complete another surefire bestseller.

erosabsens's review against another edition

5.0

informative reflective medium-paced

thehalfmonty's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

abbykwiverton's review against another edition

3.75

challenging hopeful informative inspiring slow-paced

This book is a dense, yet sobering exploration of the ways in which we fall foul to the industrialisation of time. Odell doesn’t force you to reconsider your use of time, but poses a thoughtful argument for consideration that certainly has left me voluntarily reconsidering my (capitalist) minutes for the better.