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4.4 AVERAGE
4.4 AVERAGE
Wow that was a hard one. Really well written and interesting, but it's been a while since I've had such difficulty reading a book.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
In 2022 (when I read this book, I'm recapitulating the review from that year) I kept returning to the existentialist polemic at the end of Black Skins, White Masks with the line "I am not the slave of slavery that dehumanized my ancestors." Dangerous thing for a guy like Fanon to say--we should be thankful that conservatives never read the critical race theory they gripe about. Reading Wretched of the Earth, you get that this line concedes nothing. There's no importance to assign to affirming or denying the psychic determinations of a history of slavery when the same genocide that comprised that slavery is ongoing.
This book is an indispensable strategy guide for anyone trying to build counter-genocidal sentiment into a political force. Fanon does not give an inch to the notion that revolutionary ersatzness is some footnote to liberation. When fighting an enemy as brutal as colonialism, your every imprecise judgment will land back upon you and be multiplied tenfold. There are no half-victories, no "good jobs" in the decolonial struggle. Any step back is a step in with the genocidal world order. He focuses more on the proper wielding of political power, but it's worth reading even if you have none. It has plenty to say about getting it as well. The motions are not as different as you'd think.
The last 50 pages focus on case studies of the impact of decolonial war on individuals. Torture, massacres, brainwashing etc will send both perpetrator and victim into the clinic (sometimes the same clinic at the same time making for a nasty mess). Fanon takes trauma as the prime structuring factor in politics because all this shit traumatizes people and so it is traumatized people who have to build the new world.
This book is an indispensable strategy guide for anyone trying to build counter-genocidal sentiment into a political force. Fanon does not give an inch to the notion that revolutionary ersatzness is some footnote to liberation. When fighting an enemy as brutal as colonialism, your every imprecise judgment will land back upon you and be multiplied tenfold. There are no half-victories, no "good jobs" in the decolonial struggle. Any step back is a step in with the genocidal world order. He focuses more on the proper wielding of political power, but it's worth reading even if you have none. It has plenty to say about getting it as well. The motions are not as different as you'd think.
The last 50 pages focus on case studies of the impact of decolonial war on individuals. Torture, massacres, brainwashing etc will send both perpetrator and victim into the clinic (sometimes the same clinic at the same time making for a nasty mess). Fanon takes trauma as the prime structuring factor in politics because all this shit traumatizes people and so it is traumatized people who have to build the new world.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
This is one I'll be buying my own copy of to reread and annotate.
Fanon expertly describes the anti-colonial violence and how it comes about. He explains that it is a reflection of the colonial violence imposed upon the colonies and the native population. For Fanon, the most important part of decolonising is the complete dissolution of the colonial infrastructure, and building a more just and democratic socialist society.
Fanon also shows how despite decolonisation the post-colonial states suffer, in what ways the newly formed national bourgeoisie is no different than the previous colonial management, etc..
I have to say, the last chapter in which Fanon directly talks about his individual experience treating the victims of torture and colonial oppression really shook me to my core and managed to convey the savagery of oppression better than any theoretical work could ever hope to.
Fanon also shows how despite decolonisation the post-colonial states suffer, in what ways the newly formed national bourgeoisie is no different than the previous colonial management, etc..
I have to say, the last chapter in which Fanon directly talks about his individual experience treating the victims of torture and colonial oppression really shook me to my core and managed to convey the savagery of oppression better than any theoretical work could ever hope to.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced