Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius

49 reviews

kattila's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

An incredible, well written and important book that manages to discuss both current and generational trauma that Sámi people face. The book feels like arctic winter and grief, the writing creates a vivid image of the environment, and very strongly conveys the mood.

The book is very informative on the current reality Sámi people face, and as a nordic person i'm glad i read it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Racism, Animal death, Torture, Stalking, Suicide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Murder, Mental illness, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Sexism

lay_kone's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

doreneemi's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Animal death, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Murder, and Addiction

franzeerdbeerbacke's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Self harm, Stalking, Infertility, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Death, Grief, Police brutality, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Hate crime, Genocide, Racism, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Blood, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gun violence

snow_leopard's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Racism, and Hate crime

Moderate: Suicide

lostgwennel's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Racism, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Suicide and Death

jayisreading's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

I know very little about Sámi culture, so this novel ended up being really insightful in learning more about modern Sámi life and the discrimination they face in Swedish society. Laestadius presented a number of nuanced situations for the Sámi community in her novel, such as the challenges of upholding tradition in a time of modernization, generational trauma, as well as gender roles (especially as a reindeer herder). Importantly, though, Laestadius is concerned with exploring the tensions between the Sámi community and non-Sámi community, particularly when dealing with law enforcement. The message is a little heavy-handed, which is that it’s clear she wants to draw attention to the injustices that indigenous peoples face when dealing with authoritative figures.

Structurally, I admit that I had some difficulty getting into this one. I don’t know if it was the particularly short chapters or what, but I was a bit thrown off by the overall pacing of the novel. I think another thing that didn’t quite work for me was that, while situations were explored with nuance, many of the characters themselves lacked complexity. I did feel that Laestadius set the reader up for a good versus evil story with how the characters were depicted. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this, it did make everything read as somewhat reductive.

One last thing I would add is that this novel is definitely not one for those who get squeamish about animal cruelty and death, as Laestadius does not shy away from describing the horrific killing of reindeer, also adding considerable emotional depth in losing them, especially since reindeer are more than “just animals” in Sámi culture.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Racism, and Hate crime

Moderate: Suicide, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Bullying

Minor: Car accident

annasusan's review

challenging dark informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Dementia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Colonisation

Moderate: Gore, Sexism, Confinement, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse

booksandabackpack's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

geerbeer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Heftige omschrijvingen, maar wauw! Voor iemand die de cultuur niet kent is het ontzettend leerzaam en je voelt enorm mee met de personages en dieren in het boek. Elke keer was ik weer in 'awe' over hoe mensen toch prachtig in verbinding kunnen staan met de aarde, haar flora en fauna en al zo snel zien dat het klimaat naar de klote gaat. Ontzettend mooi!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Miscarriage, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Gun violence, Dementia, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Death, Addiction, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Minor: Grief, Religious bigotry, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Violence