Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

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

51 reviews

scmiller's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death and Car accident

ekmartin's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

bexs848's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This book encouraged me to think more critically about what and how I consume in Western civilization. Extremely informative and sad, and very well-written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Sexual assault, and Colonisation

shay43geek's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexism, Violence, and Sexual harassment

drummond's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

jasisreading's review against another edition

While I think the connection the author makes between the previous exploitation of the Congo and the current exploitation, is a solid base for a novel it does not go far enough. I wish there had been more interrogation about the companies themselves and what they have been doing. Allowing the interrogation to be interwoven with the personal anecdotes would have been a more impactful. As it is, the writing feels more akin for a long form journal essay than full-length novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Medical trauma and War

had to DNF when I got the line “While violence is not the answer, I understand why…” when talking about the residents fighting back against the direct harm a mining company was causing them. Like?? That was a takeaway????

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: Child death, Death, Genocide, and Colonisation

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, and Blood

caitlindee's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

shannon_magee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

Some quotes:

“How can a sustainable future be built through sacrificing the very bearers of that future, through depriving children’s well-being, and worse even, through depriving children the right to be?”

“The biggest problem faced by the Congo’s artisanal miners is that stakeholders up the chain refuse to accept responsibility for them, even though they all profit in one way or another from their work.”

“Meaningful solutions cannot be devised if they are devoid of direct input from those the solutions are meant to assist.”

There are so many things I learned from this book - about the “clean” energy production chain, about cobalt mining, and about Congolese history. The research and firsthand accounts in this book are a significant reminder that all systems and all communities across our world interact and overlap, even if we cannot see where they touch at first. As such, it’s a reminder that when we’re alerted to inequities and injustice in systems and events all over the world, it is our responsibility to educate ourselves on them, then to speak out against the injustice, and do what we can to support the communities most directly affected, according to their expressed needs. 

This is a painful, but powerful read and a very necessary one. I have much respect for the author for his work in researching, interviewing, and sharing this with us, and to all those who spoke with him and worked with him in the Congo, who shared their stories to get word out to the rest of us so we can wake up and step up. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

hanhantap's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Racism, Violence, and Colonisation

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic