Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth Kara

5 reviews

ecn's review against another edition

5.0

Mandatory reading!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Child abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Sexism, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Body horror, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Cancer, Death of parent, and Genocide

rrocketqueen's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

5.0

A terribly upsetting must read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Child death, Medical content, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Murder, and Chronic illness

sarahdkdc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

4.25

I think this book was written with a lot of compassion and care. I really like that Kara mentioned the privilege he has by way of his appearance, and how that aided him in his studies in the Congo. I also appreciate that Kara expresses at the end of the book that the people who should be telling these stories are Congolese people themselves. I guess we have to start somewhere. I hope Kara continues his trips to the Congo and tries to help amplify Congolese voices.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Child death, Death, and Genocide

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, and Blood

stephanieluxton's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

Thos is an important book. The injustice happening in the congo in real time is unimaginable. 

I can appreciate all the work that the author did to research and write this book. No one seems to really know or talk about cobalt mining even though it's directly linked to our rechargeable devices. I think this book will become more important now that electric cars are being pushed so heavily.

It really makes you think about what other injustices are occuring in the world. Our first world problems suddenly seem so superficial after reading a book like this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery

Minor: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Classism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Murder, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Sexual assault

Nothing is overly graphic.

bandysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Cobalt Red is a book on a subject that I was vaguely aware of, but definitely should know more about. This is one of those books that is horrifically depressing due to the subject matter and at the same time extremely well researched and written. I wish that this could be made required reading when purchasing a smart device. The DRC has been brutalized by colonialism and civil war, so to see it further exploited by Cobalt and Coltan mining is just heartbreaking. 

I did listen to this book on audiobook and I felt that the audio was very well done. Sometimes non-fiction can be a bit dry, but this was narrated well, super compelling, and kept me interested in learning more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Child abuse, Classism, Blood, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Slavery, Violence, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Torture, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Grief, Medical content, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Pandemic/Epidemic