Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

13 reviews

zombiezami's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative slow-paced

2.75

I’m unsure why this book has become so popular. The theory the author puts forth is somewhat incoherent and is held together by a bunch of anecdata. I’m glad I read it so that I can be aware of its presence in the zeitgeist, but I got very little of the actual content. The author contends her little with colonization in her book, which I feel is a huge absence. She seems like the kind of person who wants to “save the soul” of America, when I’m over here shouting #landback. At the end she gives an impassioned plea for everyone to just be exposed to the true nature of US history, that that would cause everyone to wake up and fight for justice. I really don’t think that’s the case.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

readandfindout's review

Go to review page

informative slow-paced

4.0

Style/writing: 3.5 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Perspective: 4 stars

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

grubloved's review

Go to review page

it spends so much time trying to assure the reader that racism is real that it doesn't actually do any meaningful analysis?? it kind of reads like a baby's first racism primer. weird also that it kind of handwaves the entire existence of every racial group other than black and white; it makes sense once you understand it is specifically a book about antiblack racism in america, but even the book seems confused about what its purpose is, continually claiming to describe an entire system and then only fixating on one aspect -- feels a little shallow. 

also weird that india's caste system is a selling point but is honestly barely present in the book, and that nazi germany is consistently held up as another state creating an underclass (the goal wasn't an underclass of jews. it was no more jews. this is not very analogous to a caste system). 

the alpha wolf chapter was also absolutely atrocious and i think is a really good example of a lot of the problems i had with the text. it was really strange for the book to claim that racism's big downsides are largely that naturally superior people who happen to be in the wrong caste can't assume their rightful place as leaders, and that naturally inferior people who are in the upper caste should be allowed to be ruled by their betters ??? it continually seems to insist that hierarchy is not the problem, but that it is simply a wrong hierarchy and that we should adjust to follow a better natural order. just really really strange to read in a book about racism.

i really enjoyed the pillars of caste section but the rest of it just wasn't the indepth reading i was here for. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

torturedreadersdept's review

Go to review page

challenging informative medium-paced

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

bi_n_large's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.75


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

arthur_harris's review

Go to review page

challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

This book pulls absolutely no punches. It lays out the facts of its subject matter with a kind of frank, unflinching look at the truth that is so constantly softened and blunted in history. Deeply, grimly informative on the true history of the Black experience in the United States. A harsh reality check for those - like me - who grew up with a whitewashed view of American history. While this book is a difficult read in many ways, that is part of what makes it such a necessary one. It forces the reader to examine the deeply ingrained racism baked into the foundation of America, and the subsequent role of the (non-Black) reader in that racist system. An absolutely vital piece of literature. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

youreawizardjerry's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

fromjuliereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative inspiring slow-paced
This was definitely a dense read but so important. It had some really interesting insight and comparisons between the caste systems of India, Nazi Germany, and the United States. 
There were anecdotes from the author's own experiences which lended to proving the points outlined. And some of the information provided was interesting, important, difficult, brought forth a lot of thoughts. I especially found it interesting when Wilkerson discussed the Black anthropologists who went to the South, as this was not something I had heard about previously. And I liked having some of the references to things I had studied about or seen in Germany. 

The one thing I will say is that sometimes the switches between the three caste systems felt jarring, as it flipped from one to another in a single paragraph or page. I think it could have been laid out more cleanly where it didn't feel like a tangent.
But all in all, definitely a book that should be read widely.

(I'm not adding a rating for non fiction because I never know how to rate them properly.)

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

beholderess's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative medium-paced

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

aqtbenz's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings