Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - Warum ich nicht länger mit Weißen über Hautfarbe spreche

Eddo-Lodge states that she owes her respectability to the fact that against all odds, she was able to follow a professional trajectory very similar to those she criticises. She specifically mentions that she speaks and writes like them. As much as this statement makes you think about the way things are, and how they shouldn't be, I cannot disagree with it, because this book truly is very, very digestible. It starts off as a reflective academic-style text, becomes more and more personal throughout, until it morphs into anger-fuelled call for action in the last chapters. When I got to the 3rd chapter 'What is White Privilege?' I found myself reaching for a pencil and underlining important passages, and could not let go of the pencil until the very end. I don't know what essay I'll be writing since I'm no longer in university, but somehow I felt that these quotes were important and I need to make note of them.

Now I must say that as the book progressed, the writing became less fact-based and more emotional. I can't really blame Eddo-Lodge, she has every right to feel outraged. She wrote from her experience, which is experience shared by far too many. We don't need a statistic, an exact number, in order to believe or understand that yes, racism is truly ever-present and encompassing of non-white people's lives. Especially if those numbers had been laid out in previous chapters. I specifically mention this, because it has been pointed out in other reviews. I personally don't mind this, I think there is a need for an outcry where necessary. I haven't read as much as I would have liked about this topic in the past, I have to shamefully admit, therefore my review might be favourable due to this fact.

I enjoyed reading other people's perspectives, such as the interview (well, not really, but anyway) with Eddo-Lodge's mixed-raced friend, or her Texan white friend. I wish there were more, I think they intensified EL's point. The Nick Griffin interview was quite short, but oh my, so intense. I wanted to punch him through the book. How EL kept her cool during this phone call is beyond me.

All in all a great, essential read.

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doireann_ni_chaoimh's review against another edition

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funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

While I don’t know that it necessarily taught me anything new, that’s not to say that if I had read it when it came out it first rather than in 2020 that would still have been the case. I did find a lot of it really resonated with me and the stuff she was saying about the 2016 political shit show of year really captured that feeling of the time for me.
I loved that her personality shone through in the writing even though it was really research based. It was refreshing to get a British view of race and racism because it seems more similar to the Irish experience and so much of what we consume is through an American lense. I also really loved that it fuelled such great discussions with others who’ve read it, which I guess was part of the point of it.

Would definitely recommend.

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fionac326's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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liz_vg's review against another edition

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informative reflective fast-paced

3.25

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