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Reviews tagging 'Racism'
Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country by Patricia Evangelista
1 review
sumsi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.5
"Some People Need Killing" examines how a society fails to uphold its moral compass. It shows how populism and nationalism lead to a fascist society in which the weakest member of society become the targets of an ever-increasing hate campaign needed to justify the position of those in power. It's a powerful book, and a needed one, as it themes are globally relevant.
Evangelista manages to effortlessly weave in a flurry of topics, including autobiographical details, as well as historic struggles and insights into the contemporary culture of the Philippines.
We learn about the conditions that lead to Rodrigo Duterte's rise to power, the impact of his "war against drugs" and the aftermath of a country that reels against the violence it inflicted upon itself. We are presented with the people who voted for him, the people that executed his ideas, and the victims whose lives have been extinguished or otherwise irreversibly impacted for the worse.
Trying to edit all of this trauma, personal and cultural, down into a report could not have been a harder task. As such I did find myself willfully rereading dense passages, doing extra research, and enduring the — at times — long-winded reflections and repetitions. It's a fantastic book that I highly recommend. Still I'll have to be honest in that it wasn't quite my cup of tea, and that trying to devour it mostly lead to stomach aches. It's a clunky book — as in my experience are most that have something of substance to say!
Evangelista manages to effortlessly weave in a flurry of topics, including autobiographical details, as well as historic struggles and insights into the contemporary culture of the Philippines.
We learn about the conditions that lead to Rodrigo Duterte's rise to power, the impact of his "war against drugs" and the aftermath of a country that reels against the violence it inflicted upon itself. We are presented with the people who voted for him, the people that executed his ideas, and the victims whose lives have been extinguished or otherwise irreversibly impacted for the worse.
Trying to edit all of this trauma, personal and cultural, down into a report could not have been a harder task. As such I did find myself willfully rereading dense passages, doing extra research, and enduring the — at times — long-winded reflections and repetitions. It's a fantastic book that I highly recommend. Still I'll have to be honest in that it wasn't quite my cup of tea, and that trying to devour it mostly lead to stomach aches. It's a clunky book — as in my experience are most that have something of substance to say!
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Addiction, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Classism, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Racism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, and Sexism
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