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A review by map_to_neverland
What We Talk About When We Talk about Rape by Sohaila Abdulali
5.0
“This is what you must feel, and remember while we continue our conversation about rape: that punch in the gut.”
Let me tell you, this book made me really feel that punch in the gut. This is not an easy read by any means. It is sad and scary and heartbreaking, and I can’t even put words to fully describe what reading this book felt like. But my word was it an important read.
I can’t put enough trigger warnings on this book (sexual assault & rape, suicide, murder, war, trauma, etc.). It is not going to be pain-free.
But Abdulali created such an important, thought-provoking book. She describes sexual assault, but specifically comments on how we respond to sexual assault after the fact and how we discuss it while also highlighting how different identities may intersect with that response (class, caste, gender, race, etc.) and she provides a view into how people respond to rape beyond just the US.
In the US, we tend to focus on us. Ourselves. That’s it. If all you know about we, as a society, respond to this topic is the Me Too movement (a wonderful movement but not a full picture into the world as a whole), please consider reading this book. There are so many pieces to the conversation on rape and sexual assault that I hadn’t considered before reading this book.
Let me tell you, this book made me really feel that punch in the gut. This is not an easy read by any means. It is sad and scary and heartbreaking, and I can’t even put words to fully describe what reading this book felt like. But my word was it an important read.
I can’t put enough trigger warnings on this book (sexual assault & rape, suicide, murder, war, trauma, etc.). It is not going to be pain-free.
But Abdulali created such an important, thought-provoking book. She describes sexual assault, but specifically comments on how we respond to sexual assault after the fact and how we discuss it while also highlighting how different identities may intersect with that response (class, caste, gender, race, etc.) and she provides a view into how people respond to rape beyond just the US.
In the US, we tend to focus on us. Ourselves. That’s it. If all you know about we, as a society, respond to this topic is the Me Too movement (a wonderful movement but not a full picture into the world as a whole), please consider reading this book. There are so many pieces to the conversation on rape and sexual assault that I hadn’t considered before reading this book.