Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt

17 reviews

littlecat's review against another edition

dark reflective

2.0

The rating is much more about my reading expierince of this book then a value of it cause the prose was the kind of dense style that I had a hard time reading, there are concepts I encountered  already  ( “Books of the sort I want to write are banned, for they are against the world that birthed the writer.”) that  I like tried to mental hold onto to understand the book but - it felt too unfocused for it to work for me, the constant quoting of others just made me want to read someone else and the general bleak tone (which he of course is entitled to! just wasnt for me). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, Colonisation, Sexual content, Racism, Suicide, Body shaming, Rape, Transphobia, Genocide, Police brutality, and Homophobia

pawpaw's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

To call Belcourt's memoir "inspiring" or "emotional" feels like an insult; the level of his writing is indescribably rich, refreshing, complex, and needed. I would quote some of his most poignant lines, but that'd ruin the experience of coming across them naturally. 

Don't get me wrong: sometimes I rolled my eyes because of how much he used the word "ontological," and he can come off as pretentious, but so be it. With everything that he's been forced to deal with, with everything he's achieved? He's allowed to come off as a bit arrogant at times.

If you're triggered by suicide, sexual assault, murder, and the institutionalized destruction of Indigenous peoples, please tread carefully. That being said, this book is vital, and well beyond worth it. 

Please remember that there are many other Indigenous and queer voices. If you choose to listen to this one, don't stop there. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual content, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, and Genocide

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Racism, Murder, Cursing, and Grief

Minor: Sexual assault

vigil's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.75

this is a very personal book, deeply entrenched in his own experience that makes it difficult to rate.

billy-ray belcourt has a very strong and specific command of language, (in a way that likely intentional, judging by a later entry) that is enticing but also difficult to comprehend due its strong roots in academia. he has a very immersive writing style that transports you directly into his brain, for better or for worse. 

for personal enjoyment, it’s a 3 star, but i respect the author and what he’s doing with this collection that i bumped it up to a 4.75.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Genocide, Medical content, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Racism, Violence, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

deadpoetsam's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Homophobia, Grief, Colonisation, Murder, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Racism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Child death, Suicide attempt, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Sexism, and Suicide

Minor: Death

hannaheiserman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Homophobia, and Grief

Moderate: Genocide, Colonisation, and Addiction

offbrandclubsoda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

2.75

I am hesitant to assign a number value to this book or even to leave a review, because I suspect that my experience is more reflective of my reading level than the actual quality of the book. I found the prose challenging and had to reread some passages several times but still couldn’t grasp the meaning. Nonetheless, the book was beautiful and lovely at times and very painful at others, and, as a Queer, disabled person, I am glad I read it. I found that listening to the audiobook helped me follow a bit better. One of my favourite quotes from the book:

“if I try to compose anything but sad poems, I fear it’ll be akin to a widower trying to convince others that he has found happiness again by wearing a T-shirt that says HAPPINESS” (p. 94)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and Racism

Moderate: Genocide, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Infidelity and Medical trauma

sarahfa's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide

Minor: Medical trauma and Suicide

Dense, some beautiful sentences