You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
axmed's reviews
806 reviews
Prince of Monkeys by Nnamdi Ehirim
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
this book was good in many ways, with bangers like this from Tanzanian anti-colonial activist and political theorist Julius Nyerere (aun):
“Let’s see if you recognize these words—‘Africans had never aspired to wealth and status just for the sake of dominating his brothers. He had never had laborers to do his work for him till the foreign capitalists rowed up to the shore in their fancy boats. They were wealthy. They were powerful. And the African naturally started wanting to be wealthy too, which led to exploitation. There is now a need for Africans to re-educate themselves and regain their former sense of community. And so in rejecting the capitalist attitude of mind which colonialism brought into Africa, we must reject also the capitalist methods which go with it.’”
there were so many things in this novel that were clearly deeply thought through, but to then throw in harmful some anti-lgbt line in there in a very convoluted way and to let that stand, knowing what was going on on the African continent and more specifically in Nigeria, was such a terrible thing to do by a your author. and as always, people who have to intelect to take apart complicated dynamics resote to reactionary rhetoric when pushing harmful anti-lgbt or other rhetoric which is punching down at ppl already marginalized. examples that come to mind by celebrated authors are Chimamanda and J. K.
“Let’s see if you recognize these words—‘Africans had never aspired to wealth and status just for the sake of dominating his brothers. He had never had laborers to do his work for him till the foreign capitalists rowed up to the shore in their fancy boats. They were wealthy. They were powerful. And the African naturally started wanting to be wealthy too, which led to exploitation. There is now a need for Africans to re-educate themselves and regain their former sense of community. And so in rejecting the capitalist attitude of mind which colonialism brought into Africa, we must reject also the capitalist methods which go with it.’”
there were so many things in this novel that were clearly deeply thought through, but to then throw in harmful some anti-lgbt line in there in a very convoluted way and to let that stand, knowing what was going on on the African continent and more specifically in Nigeria, was such a terrible thing to do by a your author. and as always, people who have to intelect to take apart complicated dynamics resote to reactionary rhetoric when pushing harmful anti-lgbt or other rhetoric which is punching down at ppl already marginalized. examples that come to mind by celebrated authors are Chimamanda and J. K.
Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randall
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
Men Don't Cry by Faïza Guène
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
No One Dies Yet by Kobby Ben Ben
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
i need to know the thoughts of queer Ghanians on this book! would definitely love to do a buddy-read of this! there is sooooo much going on!
Unbury Our Dead With Song by Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
the writing about music and all the emotions and history and more that is wrapped around it was my favourite part of the book. but i really disliked that there was so much focus on the 'complicated' and 'tortured' lives of people with so much wealth and power, while those who are the most oppressed are hardly given any voice, but instead only discussed by the wealthy and powerful.
Everywhere You Don't Belong by Gabriel Bump
2.0
are we still doing the comparison of cops and 'gangs'? forreal? one can kill, maim, harrass, torture, etc. with impunity with the full power of the state behind them.......
In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love: Precarity, Power, Communities by Joy James
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
But when they transition [you calm down in your
grief because you realize that] they didn't leave you. Nobody
who loves you, even if
they hated you while they loved you, leaves you.
That's why
you transcend. That's why you know you love. That's why you know
you are better than
whatever garbage people try to shove down your throat. That is why
they will keep trying to
kill us but will never succeed. The soul— I don't even know what it
is— but Jonathan keeps
popping up. So, it's real. And that's good enough for me.
RW: I am honored to have
been in conversation with you and to figure out these very real
moments of struggle.
Your discernment and stream of consciousness are unmatched as one
of the most incredible
political theorists of our time. I am grateful for this opportunity
to talk to you.
JJ: I want to say one last
thing, and not because you said nice things about me: I love you,
Rebecca. I don't know
you. But I love you and that works. So, thank you.
[...]
US,
Britain and NATO backing Portugal likely facilitated Cabral’s
assassination in 1973. .
. I see [Amilcar Cabral] as an ancestor who reminds me that our
struggles are always international and that
anti-blackness is global. . . [In Return to the Source]
Cabral writes: “We recognize the devastations of lack
of clean water, adequate food and shelter. But the cause of
those deficits cannot be
remedied through policy. If so, then there is no need for
confrontation only
accommodations with colonialists and petitions for greater benefit
packages.”
grief because you realize that] they didn't leave you. Nobody
who loves you, even if
they hated you while they loved you, leaves you.
That's why
you transcend. That's why you know you love. That's why you know
you are better than
whatever garbage people try to shove down your throat. That is why
they will keep trying to
kill us but will never succeed. The soul— I don't even know what it
is— but Jonathan keeps
popping up. So, it's real. And that's good enough for me.
RW: I am honored to have
been in conversation with you and to figure out these very real
moments of struggle.
Your discernment and stream of consciousness are unmatched as one
of the most incredible
political theorists of our time. I am grateful for this opportunity
to talk to you.
JJ: I want to say one last
thing, and not because you said nice things about me: I love you,
Rebecca. I don't know
you. But I love you and that works. So, thank you.
[...]
US,
Britain and NATO backing Portugal likely facilitated Cabral’s
assassination in 1973. .
. I see [Amilcar Cabral] as an ancestor who reminds me that our
struggles are always international and that
anti-blackness is global. . . [In Return to the Source]
Cabral writes: “We recognize the devastations of lack
of clean water, adequate food and shelter. But the cause of
those deficits cannot be
remedied through policy. If so, then there is no need for
confrontation only
accommodations with colonialists and petitions for greater benefit
packages.”
A Soldier's Story: Revolutionary Writings by a New Afrikan Anarchist by Kuwasi Balagoon
fast-paced
5.0
an absolute must read!!!