Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

10 reviews

omair's review

dark informative sad medium-paced

4.0

WARNING TO THOSE READING THIS BECAUSE OF THE FILM ADAPTATION:
After all of the hype and excitement I had for the film adaptation, I knew I had to read the source material as soon as possible. I had thought I would take to the book far more than the film, which I did thoroughly like, because I went into the film expecting more police procedural and less story of love

and betrayal

.

Yet as I read this book, I found myself agreeing more and more with the decisions the film made. This is not a slight against the book, but further praise for the film. The purposes of the film and the book are not one and the same, and so it is vital to anyone that, like me, is coming to read because/after the film to understand before they begin.

REVIEW THE BOOK INDEPENDENT OF THE FILM (which is what I intend to do)

Killers is as informative of a book as I could've imagined considering the personal story the primary focus is on. The book is overflowing with descriptors that will make you feel sorrow and anger, leave you wondering what humanity is and why it is missing. While only covering a handful of incidences, the cold factual presentation will leave you reeling, as if sensing how small a fraction the sample is compared to the population. All totaled, the official death count may

only be a couple dozen

but Grann will easily convince you that there were hundreds more victims during the Reign of Terror, and he may well be right.

If you can make it through the pain and sadness, there is a beautiful story here of a people's survival. The heart to endure and rally is as much a light as the era is an inky darkness. The book may focus on Thomas White, his team of agents, and their investigation that finally tore down the veil behind which the atrocities hid, but the real heroes are the Osage people.

For as strong as the book is in its cold, clearly well-researched, tone, I also found this to be a slight undoing. The voice can feel rather impersonal at times, leaving the reader as a student of history rather than immersed in the moment. This is why I agree with the decisions made for the film adaptation. Maybe I would feel differently not having known the details from the film first, I can never know for sure. But the progression of the book, and some of the detours along the way, played loose with risking a reader to set the book down only to never return and finish.

Ultimately, I will recommend this read to anyone with an interest in the Reign of Terror, interest in the era, an interest in the realities of White American Exceptionalism, or a morbid curiosity of a casual genocide. Sticking through some of the uneven pacing is well worth it for the resulting reverence of the Osage, and Mollie in particular, all carrying inside of them something no man could ever kill.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Hate crime, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Chronic illness, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Classism, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, and Confinement

Minor: Misogyny, Kidnapping, Medical content, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Animal death, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Child death, and Cultural appropriation

vixenreader's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.25

A non-fiction book that moves with the urgency of a murder-mystery, this account of a forgotten injustice will boil your blood, especially since the crimes were saturated with racism against the Osage First Nations. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Genocide, Toxic friendship, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Blood, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content, Child death, Infidelity, Ableism, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Car accident

Minor: Pregnancy, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Physical abuse

Be warned that there is a graphic bombing episode, medical content involving diabetes, covering up crime scenes, frequent poisoning, financial abuse, policies preventing First Nations from accessing their accounts, court scenes, and mention of “burning human flesh” from an electric chair.

megboone3's review

dark informative sad slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Death of parent, Racism, Racial slurs, Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Murder, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, and Colonisation

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Medical trauma

dev921's review

dark informative fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Grief, Classism, and Domestic abuse

hannah_mck's review

challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Cultural appropriation, Violence, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Classism, Alcoholism, and Colonisation

kimmykelly's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Violence, Death, and Murder

tiffanykw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Hate crime, Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Death, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, and Emotional abuse

suzydunk's review

dark emotional informative mysterious sad fast-paced

5.0

This nonfiction book reads like a novel and is hard to put down. It is a well-researched and well-written account of a period in history most people know little to nothing about. Just when you think it’s over, it’s not. The many actual photos are key, and I highly recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Murder, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Blood, Toxic relationship, and Forced institutionalization

booknerdsinmn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Misogyny, Child death, Chronic illness, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, and Drug use

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Child abuse

Rampant prejudice against Indigenous people

sky_'s review against another edition

challenging informative mysterious slow-paced

2.75

Good story that really helps shine the light on what indigenous people had to endure during the time and what they’re still dealing with today. However the writing feels like you’re reading a three part 300 page article. Grann wrote too much about such insignificant details. If I  remember right there was a whole chapter about the detectives grandfather ..like ??If you want to learn about the Osage people but get bored easily just read an article. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Grief, Gore, Death, and Racism

Minor: Cultural appropriation