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ivi_reads_books's review against another edition
3.75
The author doesn't tell the reader what to do or think. She rather observes what happens and what doesn't happen. What gets said and what doesn't and thus encourages readers to self-reflect on their own behavior
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Abandonment, Addiction, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Violence, Death, Deportation, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Vomit, Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Police brutality
abbie_'s review
4.25
- Loved the essay about diversity being a white word and the new buzzword in publishing. White authors feel threatened by BIPOC authors seemingly monopolising all the publishing deals (lol sure) so they do their best to shoehorn characters of colour into their work - as long as they’re writing with empathy, so the saying goes, no harm done. But Elliott argues that unless you’re writing about a particular community with love, it’ll be glaringly obvious and damaging to said community. White authors like Lionel Shriver immediately go onto the defensive, claiming censorship, criticism turned into censoring free speech.
- There’s a hard-hitting essay about Elliott’s sexual assault. During sexual violence trials, it’s the woman’s innocence that’s put on trial, not the man’s guilt. Before choosing to believe a man is *not* a rapist, people do not subject him to the barrage of questions we demand of women to prove they *are* a victim. We demand a woman put her trauma and pain on display, to watch as we pull it apart, put fingers into open wounds, make her perform her trauma again and again before, more often than not, still choosing not to believe.
- The essay about food deserts in North America was amazing, the way the US and Canada have manufactured them, enabled poorer people to become overweight and then ill. Why do people believe that the answer to what is choking us - capitalism and colonialism - is to shove more of those same things down our throats while we choke?
- Essay on photography, voyeurism, colonialism, consent, power, desire - not as strong as some of the others but I liked how she explored white photographers encroaching on communities they don’t belong to to further their and western white society’s stereotypical views of a community
- Essay on lies and fiction (made me think of something else I read recently) where women writers are often conflated with their characters. Men rarely receive this treatment, but people often treat fiction written by women as autofiction
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Violence, and Domestic abuse
paperbackportals's review
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Physical abuse, Colonisation, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Rape, Gaslighting, Body shaming, and Pregnancy
jcstokes95's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
ocha10x's review against another edition
5.0
Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Mental illness, Genocide, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Sexual assault
buttermellow's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Xenophobia and Racism
Moderate: Mental illness, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault
june_haya's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual assault, Genocide, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, and Violence
Minor: Abortion and Suicidal thoughts
clarabooksit's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Colonisation, Classism, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Racism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Sexual assault
nicolejlevy's review
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, and Mental illness
Moderate: Grief, Fatphobia, and Hate crime
sofiareadings's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation
Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship