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johnotoole84's review
5.0
… Fuck…
Exceptional. Bracing, poetic, unsure, and relatable. As any good analysis, Rankine takes what we already see and know, and synthesises an understanding that seems natural, or even obvious, but that we know is anything but.
There are moments when the format / artistry overshadows the content, but they are rare. And my goodness, what content. This should be required reading for all American or anglophone high school students.
Defies description in narrative and reviewing terms, but it’s simply a book that needs to be read.
Exceptional. Bracing, poetic, unsure, and relatable. As any good analysis, Rankine takes what we already see and know, and synthesises an understanding that seems natural, or even obvious, but that we know is anything but.
There are moments when the format / artistry overshadows the content, but they are rare. And my goodness, what content. This should be required reading for all American or anglophone high school students.
Defies description in narrative and reviewing terms, but it’s simply a book that needs to be read.
annebennett1957's review
4.0
This is a difficult book to read. Difficult because of the structure and format and difficult because of the topics. I really adored Citizen: An American Lyric by Rankine and was very eager to get my hands on Just Us. Unfortunately my old eyes had difficulty with the font size especially of the footnotes and struggled to keep up the continuity of what I was reading when the little red dots told me it was time to go and read a footnote.
But.
Rankine is so right on. She makes me think about everything in our society that is geared toward whiteness and asks me to think about it...stuff like cutting in line to get on a plane, blonde as the preferred hair color, even when the majority of people in the world aren't blonde, changing the pigment of the skin of a tennis player on the graphics made of her to be lighter than she is...These examples aren't even the tough ones about justice and discrimination in housing. I have miles to go toward a goal of antiracism. Please Lord, let me get there before I die.
https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2021/04/review-just-us-american-conversation.html
But.
Rankine is so right on. She makes me think about everything in our society that is geared toward whiteness and asks me to think about it...stuff like cutting in line to get on a plane, blonde as the preferred hair color, even when the majority of people in the world aren't blonde, changing the pigment of the skin of a tennis player on the graphics made of her to be lighter than she is...These examples aren't even the tough ones about justice and discrimination in housing. I have miles to go toward a goal of antiracism. Please Lord, let me get there before I die.
https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2021/04/review-just-us-american-conversation.html
candaceopper's review
5.0
Brilliant. If you feel like you need to read White Fragility, read this instead.
prosenotbros's review
4.0
Thematically prefer Citizen over this; however, Claudia's distinctive style and voice are enough to carry her projects.
kaliaddy's review
4.0
It’s simultaneously a book and an art exhibition about racism and white supremacy