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A review by blafin
What We Talk About When We Talk about Rape by Sohaila Abdulali
3.0
I want to begin by highlighting what this book does well, which is offer a broad discussion decentralized from the United States. Rape is a phenomenon that transcends culture; how we talk about it shouldn't be limited merely to one. Similarly, feminism is not a uniquely American phenomenon and how we talk about it should not pretend otherwise. The frequency at which Abdulali shifts between place highlights the universality of rape and offers a necessary global perspective for many of us all too accustomed to geographic / cultural bias.
That being said, the book reads more like a collection of conversational essays or journal entries than a cohesive work. It felt strewn together rather than planned and the lack of structure and shifting of focus every 5-10 pages offered little in the way of substantive discussion. The personal accounts were powerful, but ultimately, I don't feel as though I learned much from this book. That being said, I would not discourage anyone from reading it. Rape is a subject that is silenced enough as is and any discussion that can bring it to light is worth publishing.
That being said, the book reads more like a collection of conversational essays or journal entries than a cohesive work. It felt strewn together rather than planned and the lack of structure and shifting of focus every 5-10 pages offered little in the way of substantive discussion. The personal accounts were powerful, but ultimately, I don't feel as though I learned much from this book. That being said, I would not discourage anyone from reading it. Rape is a subject that is silenced enough as is and any discussion that can bring it to light is worth publishing.