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A review by raoionna
The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas
5.0
Exceptional ~ Thought-provoking ~ Important
tl; dr: Forget you! Read this.
Ebony Elizabeth Thomas is a well-known scholar, so I am not surprised her book is fantastic. She does what the best of academics should do--reframe what we think we know. The book is ostensibly about literature. But, really, it is about our society, and the ways literature reaffirms social norms, many of which are pernicious and racist. Her book is powerful and truthful. My favorite part of this book is how she subverts surface diversity initiatives and shallow liberalism. Thomas using very current literature, like Hunger Games, as part of her analysis. This is academic but readable. Well-read, or so-called well-read, people should find this book. Much of how you see the way literature isn't working (or functions now) will change. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
tl; dr: Forget you! Read this.
Ebony Elizabeth Thomas is a well-known scholar, so I am not surprised her book is fantastic. She does what the best of academics should do--reframe what we think we know. The book is ostensibly about literature. But, really, it is about our society, and the ways literature reaffirms social norms, many of which are pernicious and racist. Her book is powerful and truthful. My favorite part of this book is how she subverts surface diversity initiatives and shallow liberalism. Thomas using very current literature, like Hunger Games, as part of her analysis. This is academic but readable. Well-read, or so-called well-read, people should find this book. Much of how you see the way literature isn't working (or functions now) will change. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.