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carly_reads's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
How do we examine the legacy of colonization when the basic facts of its construction are disputed in the minds of its beneficiaries?
How can we engage, discuss, even think through a post-colonial lens, when there’s no shared base of knowledge? When even the simplest accounting of events - as preserved in the country’s own archives- wobbles suspect as tin-foil-hat conspiracies in the minds of its educated citizens?
But what it takes to get there isn’t what you need once you’ve arrived.
I feel. Of course I do. I have emotions. But I try to consider events as if they're happening to someone else. Some other entity. There's the thinking, rationalizing I (me). And the doing, the experiencing, her. I look at her kindly. From a distance. To protect myself, I detach.
These directives: listen, be quiet, do this, don’t do that. When does it end? And where has it got me? More, and more of the same. I am everything they told me to become. Not enough. A physical destruction, now, to match the mental. Dissect, poison, destroy this new malignant part of me. But there’s always something else: the next demand, the next criticism. This endless complying, attaining, exceeding – why?
It’s evident now, obvious in retrospect as the proof of root-two’s irrationality, that these world superpowers are neither infallible, nor superior. They’re nothing, not without a brutally enforced relativity. An organized, systematic brutality that their soft and sagging children can scarcely stomach- won’t even acknowledge. Yet cling to as truth. There was never any absolute, no decree from God. Just vicious, random chance. And then, compounding.
Why subject myself to their reductive gaze? To this crushing objecthood. Why endure my own dehumanization?
Considering its short length, this is a razor-sharp reflection of what it means to navigate a predominantly white, imperialist culture as a black person. Racism is so embedded in our society and language that people turn a blind eye to the subtleties and how they add up to a brutal total. She talks about the ways that black bodies and the idea of diversity have been commodified to further the status quo. She talks about the erasure of black experiences and identity in the pursuit of “assimilation” aka disappearance; The way that black people are forced to be complicit in their own dehumanization. There were so many quotes that were so precise that I was in awe. Do yourself a favor and pick this up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Cancer
tamaramo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Deportation, Infidelity, Racism, and Colonisation
sydapel's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Ultimately, I think this is a book I need to return to. I found the message and the writing incredibly compelling, but because it's so short (which is why I picked it up in the first place), it was hard to really immerse myself in. There's so much introspective on class, race, capitalism, etc, that I feel I can't think about it deeply without a second read. hertofore, holding any rating for the time being.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent and Death
fatfrog's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Slavery and Infidelity
rainbowarpaint's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Classism
Moderate: Cancer
nathiddles_106's review against another edition
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Cancer
cuartolimon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment and Sexism
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
schorlett's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Cancer, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Slavery, Alcohol, and Classism
centesimal's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Fragments with poetry mixed in. Very large font and only 100 ish pages. Not really a novella but a depressed woman's attempt to come to terms with a " choice," when society has never allowed her much choice. I think my main issue is that the only times the narrative was descriptive involved food. The strongest emotions I got from the POV all revolved around her disgust of people eating. Everything else was just bleak resignation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
lady_bountiful's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Racism, Classism, Medical content, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Sexism