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Reviews tagging 'Violence'
Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin by Megan Rosenbloom
4 reviews
francescaastraea's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I am only vaguely acquainted with anthropodermic bibliopegy, even taking into account that time I got to look at a translation of Machiavelli's The Prince supposedly bound in human skin. So, take this with a pinch of salt depending on your own prior knowledge and also your desire to dive into the world of Seriously Unethical Shit Humans Make: I think Dark Archives is a solid introduction to medical history and evolving ethical conversations around human remains and anthropodermic bibliopegy. I would like to read most of the listed bibliography. You might not even like the term 'anthropodermic bibliopegy.' This is fine, I think.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Terminal illness and Violence
proseweb's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
2.5
Kind of hated this tbh!! It was written from kind of a breathless 'isn't it SO COOL that I have a JOB about BOOKS?' place that I found very off-putting. It also didn't seem to engage with any of the larger literature around human remains in favor of slightly-better-than-pop-history. I ended up skimming the last half looking for all the yes/nos on which specimens of alleged human skin binding did in fact end up real, because I knew the author was not going to engage with the ethics around the practice with the rigor or nuance I wanted from her.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Sexism, Medical content, Antisemitism, and Murder
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book messed me right up, and I was here for it lol it totally freaked me out, and I'm not sure that many other people could have pulled this book off. The narrator was also a perfect match - some levity, while also focusing on the seriousness of the subject. So much information in here, and I really appreciated that the author wasn't afraid to touch on the racial implications of some of the books. There are so many tiny ways that white oppressors have tried to make sure their bigoted ideas were mainstream, and we have to catch them in history. Whatever else Ms. Rosenbloom writes, I'm in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Medical content
Moderate: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Antisemitism, Blood, Classism, Murder, War, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Racism, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, and Toxic relationship
If you think this is going to freak you out, it likely will, but it's not gross just to be gross.maria_s's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Death, and Body horror
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Medical trauma, and Colonisation
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