Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

8 reviews

theabee's review against another edition

challenging dark informative tense slow-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: Terminal illness, Colonisation, Infidelity, and Trafficking

Minor: Suicide

psdarlin's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Child death, Mental illness, Colonisation, Death, Racial slurs, and Kidnapping

Minor: Racism, Stalking, Suicide, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Medical content, Chronic illness, and Homophobia

crownoflaurel's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Colonisation, and Child death

Moderate: Classism and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Xenophobia, Mental illness, Medical content, Trafficking, and Stalking

alagasianflame's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

As one who was more interested in H. H. Holmes than architecture history, let me say the high rating is largely due to the fact that Larson manages to make committees and ledgers equally as fascinating as a man who built his own murder castle without anyone noticing. This is accomplished by the extensive backgrounds Larson lays out for practically every major player involved in the designing and building of the Fair. At the beginning, these winding expositions seem extraneous and, at times I’ll admit, perhaps even a little dull, but they serve as a foundation upon which is built the later trials and tribulations of the Fair’s designers, much of which was apparently caused by interpersonal strife and not, necessarily, pure financial or physical deterrents. By turning flat facts into tragic or triumphant events in the personal lives of the men (and occasional woman) involved, they come alive and make this tale something more engaging than a dusty history text book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Racism, Child death, Death, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness

evetoi's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Colonisation, Death, Body horror, and Murder

headachesince03's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abortion, Alcohol, Misogyny, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Bullying, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Racism, Terminal illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Child death, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Murder

smkelly1997's review

dark informative slow-paced

3.5

I thought this book would revolve around H. H. Holmes much more than it did. Instead it was mostly about the creation, construction, and running of the fair. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Child abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Infidelity, Abandonment, Classism, Murder, Child death, Chronic illness, and Colonisation

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Dementia

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.75

The literary descriptions and firsthand accounts of the fair, and the effort and love put into it's design and creation made me wish I could have attended. The detailed descriptions of Holmes' murders and his disarmingly charming personality made me glad that I was born over a full century after 1893. I like greatly enjoyed The Devil in the White City, the second half was a far easier read than the first. I'm not sure if I've retained as much of the information about the fair's designers and the events that took place while it was open as I wanted to. While interesting, the section about the initial design process and the political lobbying that took place in order to get the fair to occur in Chicago read similarly to a textbook, in stark contrast with the narrative way the rest of the history was told. Overall, an informative and interesting read. I would use enjoyable to describe the writing, but not the content.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Gore, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicide, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Xenophobia