pawswithabook's review
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
In an enlightened world where prejudice has a greater light shone on it, Baddiel questions why it is that he feels that one group are forgotten about, and seemingly ‘don’t count’.
Baddiel writes in a matter of fact style, it’s simple to follow his argument. It is a short book, with frequent Twitter extracts which make it a quick and easily digestible read.
Very early in the book, in the first 20-30 pages I understood the point he makes…so then if I’m being completely honest I was a little disappointed that rather than elaborating or delving much deeper into the subject, the middle section gave example after example to effectively reiterate his point. I felt it became a little repetitive and lacked in direction and focus. There are no chapters or subheadings, and I think if these had have been introduced it perhaps would have encouraged a little more structured thought.
The last 20 or so pages were the most powerful for me, supported with statistics, and Baddiel sharing his own emotional reaction and thoughts, in turn provoking more empathy and reflection in the reader.
As it stands I felt the book could’ve been reduced to far fewer pages to an opinion essay which would’ve had much higher impact and created a strong discussion piece.
However, having said that, to remain standing as a book I feel it needs a lot more pages, and more structure. There could have been far greater exploration to unpack some of the sub-topics raised that I know I would’ve been interested to read more about.
This book raises an important topic for discussion, and it definitely provoked thought in me so I would not hesitate to recommend it for reading…however I think to have the impact the topic deserves, I felt the structure and content needs a little more editing.
Baddiel writes in a matter of fact style, it’s simple to follow his argument. It is a short book, with frequent Twitter extracts which make it a quick and easily digestible read.
Very early in the book, in the first 20-30 pages I understood the point he makes…so then if I’m being completely honest I was a little disappointed that rather than elaborating or delving much deeper into the subject, the middle section gave example after example to effectively reiterate his point. I felt it became a little repetitive and lacked in direction and focus. There are no chapters or subheadings, and I think if these had have been introduced it perhaps would have encouraged a little more structured thought.
The last 20 or so pages were the most powerful for me, supported with statistics, and Baddiel sharing his own emotional reaction and thoughts, in turn provoking more empathy and reflection in the reader.
As it stands I felt the book could’ve been reduced to far fewer pages to an opinion essay which would’ve had much higher impact and created a strong discussion piece.
However, having said that, to remain standing as a book I feel it needs a lot more pages, and more structure. There could have been far greater exploration to unpack some of the sub-topics raised that I know I would’ve been interested to read more about.
This book raises an important topic for discussion, and it definitely provoked thought in me so I would not hesitate to recommend it for reading…however I think to have the impact the topic deserves, I felt the structure and content needs a little more editing.
escalelly's review
5.0
Mocht je jezelf identificeren als anti-racist en links progressief, dan is dit een must-read. Baddiel weet heel goed bloot te leggen hoe Joden worden gediscrimineerd en vooral hoe links progressieven dat wegwuiven als “ach het is toch niet zo erg?” Of “zwarte mensen hebben veel meer te maken met racisme?” Dit boek heeft me weer nieuwe perspectieven gegeven op het vlak van racisme en het feit dat zelfs in racisme een bepaalde hiërarchie zit. Heel indrukwekkend en goed geschreven.
ryaaa's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0