Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer

11 reviews

knachknachjoke's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.5

A haunting, thorough exploration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, its history, and the dark implications of what actually investigating that history leads one to believe.

I would have considered myself somewhat knowledgeable on LDS church history before this read, but Krakhauer blew pretty much everything out of the water with how thorough his storytelling was. He discloses at the end his own perspective—that he hadn't intended for this to be anything other than an amicable exploration of Mormon history inspired by an admiration for his childhood friends' faiths—and the resonance I felt to his perspective was really startling.

I think my biggest takeaway from reading this, and I believe Krakhauer's from writing it, is just how frightening the two roads you can take after studying Mormonism's history are: either you discern it is one man's quest for sex and power, or you conclude that everything—polygamy, blood atonement, white supremacy, child abuse—is all true and all imperative to a right way of life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Child death, Gore, Incest, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, and Pregnancy

cinnaminskies's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Trafficking, Violence, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Misogyny

Moderate: Rape, Hate crime, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Infidelity, Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Mental illness

allys_shelf's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Grief, Misogyny, Child death, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Violence, and Incest

Moderate: Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Death, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Gun violence, Incest, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Child death, and Drug use

pearlisarobot's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Hate crime, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Alcohol, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs

tiernanhunter's review against another edition

challenging dark informative medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

carlytenille's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Murder, Racism, Rape, Trafficking, and Violence

firstknight's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Child death, Hate crime, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage, Self harm, Drug use, Gun violence, Genocide, and Drug abuse

daishaspencer's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

This book captured my attention right away as someone with family ties to the Mormon church. John’s writing isn’t linear, but that of a season journalist which he is. If you have a fascination with Mormonism, religious extremes, and the domino effect that it has this is the book for you. It can be challenging to follow the timeline and different people this book follows, so don’t pick this up as casual read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, and Violence

samarakroeger's review

challenging dark informative slow-paced

4.75

read in conjunction with watching the show as it came out. It was interesting to see how the book was adapted to be told in a different format - and I’m glad they did adapt the narrative frame to suit the media style. The book includes a much more detailed history of the LDS Church than the show can cover, so I’m glad I read the book at the same time for context. The show’s “flashbacks” were not nearly as effective as the rest of the show, in my opinion. 

I am absolutely terrified of true crime and had previously read the prologue and been so freaked out I set the book aside. I’m so glad I came back to it because most of the book isn’t directly about that horrific double murder case, but instead dives into the history of the founding of the LDS Church and more recent history pertaining to Fundamentalist sects and their devotion to polygamy. All of it will make you uneasy, because violence, pedophilia, and child rape are difficult topics to read about. 

I think this is Krakauer at his best. He is a very consistently solid author for me throughout the four books of his I’ve read so far. 

If you are fascinated by how people can possibly believe in ludicrous-sounding religions, this is a great book for you. My fascination and curiosity with the LDS Church has been further nurtured by this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Genocide, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Homophobia, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexism

orireading's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

1.5

I decided to read Under the Banner of Heaven before watching the new show, and I had a few qualms with this book. Krakauer leans on quotes from other writers (imo) an embarrassing amount, to the point where it’s like… did you write this book or did you collect these quotes huh Jon?? This is very much a right-after-9/11 book. That’s ok. 

Besides the quotes, the biggest issue I had was the book’s organization/structure — Krakauer bounced around as if he didn’t have an editor. Maybe he didn’t have an editor! I think there was definitely a way to rearrange the book structure to make it 10x more enjoyable and clearer for readers. I feel like I can say this because I wrote a big ole thesis on a specific American far-right/religious movement which was… CLEAR AND ENJOYABLE TO READ. 

Ultimately, Krakauer took what could have been a really intriguing topic and drained the life out of it (maybe that’s a bad descriptor for this book) which was disappointing as a reader. But I still finished it for whatever reason. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Rape, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Murder, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse