A review by as_a_tre3
Belonging: A Culture of Place by bell hooks

5.0

Two major things this book had inspired me to think and reflect on during the reading. The first would be on the location of belonging (and to an extent, dying) and the second one was on the hierarchy of labors. bell hooks laid out various arguments for the readers to rethink about their place of belonging, with specific nods to Kentucky, her home and settling state (in where she did rest in peace last year). Notes on hierarchy of labors with her great grandmother’s relation to quilting brought up as evidence, bell hooks had inspired me to rethink the capitalist system that lifted one specific labor, particularly resulted from brain or thinking process, and undermined others, mostly physical labors. However, I think she did not push it further to discussion about wage. One cannot claim that the latter is the same of significance as the former simply by basing it on the satisfaction alone without challenging the disparity of appreciation we give through wage rate system between the two.
It is still such a meaningful, inspiring, and powerful book and could be potentially set as one of the foundations to climate change movement that emphasizes on local efforts in challenging the predatory global capitalist system.