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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
slow-paced
as a piece of scholarly literature, revolutionary! its format is interesting and his writing is beautiful. the content gives new perspectives and broadens your mind.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
i know i’m going to think / reference this for years
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
I’m trying to approach this thinking about the mindset of when this was written, but I’m struggling with the themes.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
There's a reason this is a classic. Beautifully written, sharply intuitive and observant, and incredibly compassionate in all ways. I'm normally a fast reader, but I took this one slow so I could really let his words resonate with me. And resonate it did. I'll be thinking about this book for a while and will always be cognizant of my privilege by being able to walk through life never needing to acknowledge the Veil that divides two worlds that simultaneously coexist and are constantly at odds because of the barrage of systemic attacks flung at a whole ethnicity of people who were stolen, subjugated, and released with no reparations or real policy relief to allow the building of generational wealth.
Ultimately, I think the reason why this novel will remain in Western canon for many hundreds of years is because Dubois does not throw accusations or partition blame (although he certainly does not white-wash the history of how the trappings of modern racism came to exist), but he acknowledges the past, paying homage to the men and women who gave their lives for capitalist exploitation with his Sorrow Songs, and focuses on the future and how to move forward to improve the world. Actionable, practicable changes that could be made that would raise everyone up onto equal footing through better public education programs and by allowing access to those who would change the world if only they were afforded the chance.
He weaves a historical nonfiction account of Reconstruction while also including narratives from people he met along his travels. He strolls the line in more ways than one, threading between narrative and non-fiction, walking amongst Black men and women and the whites, passing through the Veil back and forth to bring us this work of art. Everyone should be required to read this.
Ultimately, I think the reason why this novel will remain in Western canon for many hundreds of years is because Dubois does not throw accusations or partition blame (although he certainly does not white-wash the history of how the trappings of modern racism came to exist), but he acknowledges the past, paying homage to the men and women who gave their lives for capitalist exploitation with his Sorrow Songs, and focuses on the future and how to move forward to improve the world. Actionable, practicable changes that could be made that would raise everyone up onto equal footing through better public education programs and by allowing access to those who would change the world if only they were afforded the chance.
He weaves a historical nonfiction account of Reconstruction while also including narratives from people he met along his travels. He strolls the line in more ways than one, threading between narrative and non-fiction, walking amongst Black men and women and the whites, passing through the Veil back and forth to bring us this work of art. Everyone should be required to read this.
Du Bois gives readers a look into the experiences of black people during 1800s America. It's not that he describes the outward activities, but people's inner experiences. I got a sense of being in their shoes, and it takes a skilful author to bring readers across like that. At times I found it a bit abstruse, as though he was dying to write a fictional allegory but the assignment was history. But it mostly works. One thing that really stood out, sadly, is that he covers themes and racial misunderstandings that we're still dealing with today as though no one has ever explained them to us. It must get exhausting for people to have to counter the same racial tropes generation after generation, and I can see why some would just give up and take matters into their own hands.
I listened to the audiobook, and although the narrator read well, his voice dropped off at the end of sentences and I often couldn't make out the last word. That should have been fixed in mixing.
I listened to the audiobook, and although the narrator read well, his voice dropped off at the end of sentences and I often couldn't make out the last word. That should have been fixed in mixing.
challenging
inspiring
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced