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danni_faith's review
4.0
I need to preface my review by stating that I am not German, but I have been living in Germany for the past year, speak German, and do feel connected to Germany. I was born and raised in New York City, USA and that is the point into which I entered this book. I came to this book carrying my knowledge (both experiential and academic) as a mixed race, Venezuelan and Black young woman, and found that this book was strangely familiar. Although this novel is chiefly concerned with matters of Black women living in Germany, I found it touched on my experiences—also it must be said that one of the women, Kathleen, is a Black woman from the U.S. who lives in Germany, so no duh her anecdotes would be most similar to my own.
I think this book whether intentionally or not speaks to the very real lived reality of Black women in predominately white countries. Much of the academic and intellectual work that Kilomba does is influenced by thinkers in the U.S. such as bell hooks and Patricia Hill Collins, two of some of the most forethinkers and scholars of Black Women Studies in the United States. I was quiteupset enraged to learn that Kilomba, a Portuguese woman, and Alicia, an Afro-German woman, had experiences of alienation and marginalization. White supremacy is real, and its reach is international. Admittedly I didn't learn much in the way of critical race theory or Black Feminist Thought. This book more shed light on the experiences of Black women in Germany and gave me insight into the manifestations of racism against the Black female body—which shockingly are not much different than the dynamics of racism in the U.S. Nevertheless, I believe that people should read this. The intellectual work being written about racism faced by Black women outside of the U.S. in English is rare. Kilboma did great work, and it deserves to be widely read.
I think this book whether intentionally or not speaks to the very real lived reality of Black women in predominately white countries. Much of the academic and intellectual work that Kilomba does is influenced by thinkers in the U.S. such as bell hooks and Patricia Hill Collins, two of some of the most forethinkers and scholars of Black Women Studies in the United States. I was quite
martabp99's review against another edition
4.0
O facto de terem sido precisos 10 anos para este livro ter chegado a Portugal e ser traduzido na língua portuguesa ....... “pois uma sociedade que vive em negação, ou até mesmo na glorificação da história colonial, não permite que novas linguagens sejam criadas (...) Parece-me não há nada mais urgente do que começarmos a criar uma nova linguagem. Um vocabulário no qual nos possamos todas/xs/os encontrar, na condição humana.”
marianagrrd's review against another edition
5.0
Um livro fundamental para pensar o racismo e o colonialismo de maneira profunda e as marcas que se perpetuam no quotidiano das nossas sociedades. Os testemunhos da Alicia e da Kathleen são preciosos para entender a forma como tantos comportamentos tidos como "normais" ou "aceitáveis" pelas pessoas brancas contêm uma essência profundamente problemática e enraizada numa ideia de supremacia branca que se reproduz desde o colonialismo. Não devorava um livro em tão poucos dias há bastante tempo. Obrigada, Grada Kilomba, por este contributo tão necessário. As minhas curtas palavras não são, de todo, capazes de fazer jus a este livro. Leiam, leiam, leiam.
deceased's review
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
5.0
it blew my mind the first time and it blows my mind every time I re-read it. Grada Kilomba is an incredible author and artist and transfers her experiences to paper in a way that makes you want to keep reading!