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alaris's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
0.5
I received an ARC for review and it was slow and painful to read, due to the medical horrors of the subject and because it is not chronologically organized. When I finally finished it, I read through the intro again - which had excited me in the first place, since Hallman said he was aiming to increase the amount known about Anarcha herself and not focusing on Sims... and in the ARC, at least, he failed at that goal. I could not tell if he forgot that plan or if he just did not have enough information about her and over-promised. He did not glorify Sims, he portrays Sims as a fairly terrible and arrogant man, but he did not focus on Anarcha even remotely as much as he'd said he would. I have no interest in reading the released version to see if it's better - or in reading anything more from Hallman.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Body horror, Confinement, Miscarriage, Slavery, and Medical content
fowlerca86's review
5.0
Wow!! An incredible and highly-detailed telling of Anarcha Jackson and Dr. Marion Sims’s stories. Highly recommend for anyone continuing to learn about (and actively dismantling) the white supremacist nature engrained in ALL aspects of this country and its history.
cindikissmaximus's review
3.0
Important story. I found the writing style and the chronology to be difficult at the expense of the main narratives.
emdowd's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
slow-paced
3.5
I found the pacing difficult and would have liked a tool like a timeline showing Anarcha and Simms movements. Switching focus back and forth made narrative sense, but it necessitated a lot of bouncing back and forth in time which I found disorienting.
It's partly speculative nonfiction (we don't have many details of Anarcha's life), which worked for me but I could see being jarring for some readers. The author did a really admirable and interesting thing, making so much of his research available online for readers to access (or not) as they chose.
It's partly speculative nonfiction (we don't have many details of Anarcha's life), which worked for me but I could see being jarring for some readers. The author did a really admirable and interesting thing, making so much of his research available online for readers to access (or not) as they chose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Child abuse, Torture, Violence, Sexual assault, Slavery, Child death, Misogyny, Body horror, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Death
beelzebean's review
4.0
I was given a free copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway.
As one might expect, the subject matter of this book was very difficult to read. The medical experiments performed on slave women were beyond inhumane and atrocious.
There were a few times where I was a little lost in the details of this book but overall, it was an important story that needed to be told. I'm glad that the book ended with a follow up of fistula surgeries in more modern times in African
As one might expect, the subject matter of this book was very difficult to read. The medical experiments performed on slave women were beyond inhumane and atrocious.
There were a few times where I was a little lost in the details of this book but overall, it was an important story that needed to be told. I'm glad that the book ended with a follow up of fistula surgeries in more modern times in African