Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

43 reviews

emily_pemily's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Torture

grubloved's review against another edition

it spends so much time trying to assure the reader that racism is real that it doesn't actually do any meaningful analysis?? it kind of reads like a baby's first racism primer. weird also that it kind of handwaves the entire existence of every racial group other than black and white; it makes sense once you understand it is specifically a book about antiblack racism in america, but even the book seems confused about what its purpose is, continually claiming to describe an entire system and then only fixating on one aspect -- feels a little shallow. 

also weird that india's caste system is a selling point but is honestly barely present in the book, and that nazi germany is consistently held up as another state creating an underclass (the goal wasn't an underclass of jews. it was no more jews. this is not very analogous to a caste system). 

the alpha wolf chapter was also absolutely atrocious and i think is a really good example of a lot of the problems i had with the text. it was really strange for the book to claim that racism's big downsides are largely that naturally superior people who happen to be in the wrong caste can't assume their rightful place as leaders, and that naturally inferior people who are in the upper caste should be allowed to be ruled by their betters ??? it continually seems to insist that hierarchy is not the problem, but that it is simply a wrong hierarchy and that we should adjust to follow a better natural order. just really really strange to read in a book about racism.

i really enjoyed the pillars of caste section but the rest of it just wasn't the indepth reading i was here for. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Confinement, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Classism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Rape, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Child death, Colonisation, Torture, Racism, and Murder

shoshin's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Sometimes, it's easiest to understand what is happening around you by finding a way to step outside it to describe it. Wilkerson does that brilliantly with this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Genocide, and Murder

Moderate: Sexism and Classism

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

jess_westhafer's review against another edition

I felt like I got everything out of this book I was going to in the pages I read. The ideas started to seem redundant, and I didn’t feel the need to keep going. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Antisemitism, Violence, Slavery, and Torture

wintermote's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

A very sobering look at the caste system in the United States and similarities between that of India and Nazi Germany. An excellent blend of storytelling about those affected by the system, the authors own experiences, and facts/data that is related. I was horrified to read about it a racist incident/situation that took place in my own town…that lasted for decades. We all have a lot of work to do in understanding our history, lamenting, and working for change. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, and Racism

madradstarchild's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Racism

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Islamophobia, Police brutality, Murder, Misogyny, Hate crime, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Slavery, Genocide, Sexism, and Homophobia

Minor: War, Drug use, Classism, Ableism, Racial slurs, Rape, and Colonisation

kirstenf's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Torture, Genocide, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, and Antisemitism