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paperbackparker 's review for:
Lies We Tell Ourselves
by Robin Talley
2/5 stars.
Oh, no. What a disappointment. This book had been on my bookshelves for 5 years. I had hyped it up in my mind, and was always scared to actually read it. But part of me wishes I would have just read it when I got it, instead of now, so I wouldn’t be able to see all of the problematic bullshit.
I feel so incredibly gross and uncomfortable about a white woman writing this story. The number of slurs, racist names and phrases that are in this book is truly shocking to me. Of course, within the context of the plot, I understand ~why~ they’re there. But I just could not get past the fact that a white woman typed them out and chose those specific words all those times. This was not her story to tell, and this was not her language to use. Honestly, part of me would not recommend any Black readers to actually pick this up due to the language in it. I also can’t even begin to dive into the oppressed/oppressor romance trope. Disgusting.
The good things about this book were that 1) I did appreciate the Queer representation and I thought that it was refreshing, 2) I enjoyed the dual-perspective storytelling and 3) it did teach me a lot about a time that I, admittedly, didn’t know very much about. However, I will be seeking out further education on the matter from Black people, and I think every reader of this book should too.
Obviously, I am a white person, and I won’t always get things right despite trying my best with the knowledge I have. I just know that reading this book made me feel uncomfortable, and I really do think it’s problematic. But it’s not my place to fully claim that and say that nobody should read this ever. I would recommend you seek out reviews from Black readers regarding the subject matter in this book. And if you have read this and have further criticisms or thoughts you’d like to share, let me know.
Oh, no. What a disappointment. This book had been on my bookshelves for 5 years. I had hyped it up in my mind, and was always scared to actually read it. But part of me wishes I would have just read it when I got it, instead of now, so I wouldn’t be able to see all of the problematic bullshit.
I feel so incredibly gross and uncomfortable about a white woman writing this story. The number of slurs, racist names and phrases that are in this book is truly shocking to me. Of course, within the context of the plot, I understand ~why~ they’re there. But I just could not get past the fact that a white woman typed them out and chose those specific words all those times. This was not her story to tell, and this was not her language to use. Honestly, part of me would not recommend any Black readers to actually pick this up due to the language in it. I also can’t even begin to dive into the oppressed/oppressor romance trope. Disgusting.
The good things about this book were that 1) I did appreciate the Queer representation and I thought that it was refreshing, 2) I enjoyed the dual-perspective storytelling and 3) it did teach me a lot about a time that I, admittedly, didn’t know very much about. However, I will be seeking out further education on the matter from Black people, and I think every reader of this book should too.
Obviously, I am a white person, and I won’t always get things right despite trying my best with the knowledge I have. I just know that reading this book made me feel uncomfortable, and I really do think it’s problematic. But it’s not my place to fully claim that and say that nobody should read this ever. I would recommend you seek out reviews from Black readers regarding the subject matter in this book. And if you have read this and have further criticisms or thoughts you’d like to share, let me know.