Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

Doppelganger by Naomi Klein

11 reviews

alyssann's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

carojust's review

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

"Doppelganger" is a book you read to find footing in our tumultuous world of politics, technology, war, healthcare and the permanent, pervasive ecological damage we've done in the name of capitalism. 

Naomi Klein centers this book around the strange occurrence of being mistaken as Naomi Wolf, a fellow writer and feminist whose beliefs she deems harmful and flat-out wrong. But she quickly expands this idea of doppelgangers toward the two selves of a person, a religion, a country. Then brings it back to say, rather persuasively albeit incongruously, that our answer to making the world better lies in abandoning individualism and engaging in a care-based, communal society.

Throughout the book, this idea of relating the world to "doubling" felt like a reach, and overdone. I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't need the constant packaging of mirrors and shadow worlds. Yin and yang, I get it. 

Also, this is a call to socialism, essentially. You'll be disappointed if you go into this expecting more of a memoir with a "Black Mirror" angle. But it's a great read for your social consciousness, and how to approach our increasingly hostile, diametrically opposed world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

nreyno's review

adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

aileen_macalister's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

The book's main thread follows Naomi Klein and another writer Naomi Wolf, who's career path was so similar to Klein's for such a long period that the two are often confused. However, Wolf's life takes a dramatic shift to the right and Klein finds herself constantly "called out" for Wolf's views.

This leads Klein to look into the far right and conspiracy theories while also analysing references to doppelgangers throughout literature and history.

It is a fascinating window into the "mirror world" as Klein refers to it. It took me a couple of chapters to get into the book as she has to spend a good amount of time setting the scene and describing the similarities of herself and Wolf before she can get to the good stuff but once she gets into it the story takes you on an journey through this mirror world from Anti-vaxers to Palestine and everything in-between.

For me, listening to it as an audiobook made it so much easier to take in.

Overall it's an exploration into what it means to be a human in today's world and what "the self" really means.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide

Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Violence, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sydapel's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

I really don't rate non-fiction, but we're making an exception for this one since it's one of the only books I've read that discusses our current political polarization without making me feel entirely defeated. Klein approaches alt right talking points with context, facts and a deep amount of empathy that both holds these pundits accountable while recognizing how they've gotten there. I also appreciate the reference made to other explorations of dopplegangers and double-think, it really brings the book together in such a satisfying way. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

uranaishi's review

challenging emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Deportation

peckreadsbooks's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

katharina90's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

An interesting read that's particularly strong in its last few chapters where Naomi Klein illustrates the violent bigotry and genocidal tendencies inherent to Europe and its colonial projects.

The book is well written, covers a lot of ground and offers much food for thought. 

Trying to tie all of these topics back to the doppelganger motif at times feels like a stretch? I definitely lost the thread a few times but was captivated by Klein's meandering narrative nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Dementia and War

cerysl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

madscientistcat's review against another edition

challenging funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child death, Islamophobia, and War

Minor: Rape, Slavery, Transphobia, and Abortion

Extensive discussion of various genocides and the holocaust specifically