Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King

5 reviews

karcitis's review against another edition

challenging dark funny informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Violence, Gaslighting, Racism, Genocide, Child death, Racial slurs, and War

windspice's review

funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Police brutality

Moderate: Violence and Sexual assault

maddyontheoffbeat's review

hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

For a non-fiction book, this kept my attention surprisingly well. King's writing style is sarcastic and funny, and it's quite the juxtaposition to the heavy content of this book. I did find myself crying at the end just a little, but this book isn't meant to be lighthearted and fun.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Trafficking, and Xenophobia

tinyd26's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

In recent years, I've had a very hard time staying focused and engaged when reading non-fiction. It says a lot that this is the first non-fiction book I've managed to finish in years. I'd imagine if I had a better attention span for the genre, I would have flown through it. And really, considering the amount of detail packed into this modest volume, it is a quick read. King has infused this book with a generous amount of humor (largely sarcasm), which makes it quite engaging, not least of all by countering the gravitas of the subject matter. That being said, King seems to be a BIG fan of lists. I have to admit, I did a good amount of skimming through these after the first few, knowing that I would not retain all the names, anyway. 

King is extremely upfront from the outset that while he respects academic pursuit and includes (a lot of) history here, he is not unbiased, and also includes a good number of more personal anecdotes and less verifiable historical stories. If you're looking for strictly hard-boiled, fact-based history, this isn't the place to get it. But for me the mix of verified history, anecdotes, discussion, and humor worked well. The book is accessible and readable while providing plenty of gut-punchingly impactful information about the history of the relationship between First Nations and North American governments. 

This book was just what I needed to spur me to read more about (it also references plenty of other books which are now on my TBR) the history, struggles, and perspectives of indigenous populations.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

ohlhauc's review against another edition

funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

A wry, wrenching account of many major events in the history of colonization of in Canada and the United States. 

If you read much about indigenous history, many of the events may not be new to you but the way that King ties everything together is exceptional. The juxtaposition and connection of different events in both countries, by theme, and apart from the whitewashed account of North American history helped me to better understand the system of colonization, destruction, and harm governments forced upon First Nations and Native Americans.

King's writing is also smart and straightforward, and there were many laugh-out loud moments. His observations are astute and he has a way to point out the ironic and ridiculous assumptions we hold and belief, both serious and trivial.

Definitely recommend if you want an introduction to post-colonization indigenous history in Canada and the United States.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Racism, and Violence