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Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
14 reviews
doreneemi's review
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Grief and Alcohol
Minor: Chronic illness, Infidelity, and Forced institutionalization
sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition
4.0
David Grann’s writing is fantastic. He manages to keep his language accessible and fluid while also not deviating too far from the facts of the case. This book is part thriller, part nonfiction, and while it is easy to cross that line into sensationalism, I believe Grann worked incredibly hard to make sure the families of the victims were heard and not drowned out by the “true crime” aspects of the case.
The last chapter, “A Case Unsolved”, devastated me. Just when you think there has been justice for these people ignored by the U.S. government, you see how far the conspiracy goes. It was heartbreaking and real, which I appreciated considering how easy it is today to write a true crime story in the form of a ghost story. This book served as a brutal reminder of the treatment Indigenous Americans have endured- and still endure- at the hands of the government.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in U.S. history, especially that of the Wild West. While it may be after the period we consider “Western”, it holds the same ideology even as the country moves into a different era.
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
omair's review against another edition
4.0
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
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
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.
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting
fkshg8465's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation
lindseylosers's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death
phob's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
jhbandcats's review against another edition
5.0
Killers of the Flower Moon is an especially difficult book to read, not because of the writing but because the subject is so painful. Grann documents how literally hundreds of Osage were murdered for riches in the early 20th C. As American Indians, their lives were worth less than that of dogs. An entire corrupt and venal society was arrayed against them. Well aware they were systematically being murdered, they had no recourse. The authorities, both political and legal, were complicit in the murders. No one would help save them from eradication.
This is an excellent telling of a dark and shameful time in our history. If only this much attention had been paid a hundred years ago some of the Osage who were murdered might have lived.
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
kimmykelly's review against another edition
3.0
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Racism, Violence, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
rochelleisreading's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racism, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
lorenag5's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism