Reviews tagging 'Death'

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

39 reviews

viporras's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Violence, Slavery, Genocide, Racism, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, War, and Death

dianapiskor's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

Wow wow wow did I learn a great deal in this book. I think this is a must read for any individual, especially for those living in what is a caste system in America. Poignant, well researched, and well written, this book was difficult, but important, to read, as it lays out it's argument that in the United States, not all are born free and have never been so, even since the beginning of this nation's founding.

This novel argues that we have a caste system in the United States and that African Americans are at the bottom of this caste. Through exclusion, violence, and other strategic means, the United States has created a system where those at the bottom MUST stay at the bottom of a caste hierarchy or face the consequences. This is engrained in every facet of American life and has been done so in order to disenfranchise African Americans and to keep them in their caste. 

This book was enlightening, if not horrifying. The author lays out EVERYTHING the United States has done in order to subjugate African Americans and the extent to which individuals have done so is disgusting and terrifying. This is not an easy read. It is uncomfortable for those who are not aware of the deep history of this subjugation. But it is necessary to understand, to relate, and to see the effects of caste within our current events and the current day. 

This is an absolute must read, especially as the United States continues to see the issues of caste within the news, politics, and society. If you thought that these issues faced by Black individuals was a thing of the past, buckle up, because one cannot escape the past when it is woven into the present. However, please be aware of triggers, as part of this book can be upsetting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content, Colonisation, Genocide, Death, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, and Hate crime

hmbrokaw's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

4.0

A phenomenal look at what exactly caste is. Any yt person interested in anti-racism work should read this. It’s heavy and hard to read, but in all the ways it should be when reading about the oppression of billions. Don’t expect to feel good about yourself- expect to learn.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Genocide, Racism, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Death

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Misogyny, Deportation, Antisemitism, Child death, Police brutality, Slavery, and Xenophobia

bi_n_large's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Torture, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Terminal illness, Classism, and Death

Minor: Death of parent, War, and Grief

arthur_harris's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

This book pulls absolutely no punches. It lays out the facts of its subject matter with a kind of frank, unflinching look at the truth that is so constantly softened and blunted in history. Deeply, grimly informative on the true history of the Black experience in the United States. A harsh reality check for those - like me - who grew up with a whitewashed view of American history. While this book is a difficult read in many ways, that is part of what makes it such a necessary one. It forces the reader to examine the deeply ingrained racism baked into the foundation of America, and the subsequent role of the (non-Black) reader in that racist system. An absolutely vital piece of literature. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Police brutality, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Colonisation, Slavery, Blood, Medical trauma, Racism, Child death, and Murder

wrackcity's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Racism, Racial slurs, and Death

youreawizardjerry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Blood, Bullying, Body horror, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Death, and Death of parent

jenniferbbookdragon's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

 America's racism has established a caste system, and this examination of the similarities between the US, India, and Nazi Germany is powerful and compelling. Using this framework to address history as well as current societal and political issues makes for book that will make the reader reconsider what they think they know about why individuals and groups act the way they do around race.
Well researched without being dry, and including the author's experience as an African-American woman, it isn't a quick read due to the need to process the material. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, War, Antisemitism, and Classism

nicole_p's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Bullying, Confinement, Genocide, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, Slavery, Torture, and Violence