A review by jasisreading
Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth Kara

Did not finish book. Stopped at 47%.

While I think the connection the author makes between the previous exploitation of the Congo and the current exploitation, is a solid base for a novel it does not go far enough. I wish there had been more interrogation about the companies themselves and what they have been doing. Allowing the interrogation to be interwoven with the personal anecdotes would have been a more impactful. As it is, the writing feels more akin for a long form journal essay than full-length novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Classism, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Child death, and Colonisation

Moderate: War and Medical trauma

had to DNF when I got the line “While violence is not the answer, I understand why…” when talking about the residents fighting back against the direct harm a mining company was causing them. Like?? That was a takeaway????