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gillyanaire's review against another edition
5.0
I've been a Desmond Cole fan since 2012 when I moved to Toronto. His urgent and affecting journalism and prose is essential reading for all Torontonians, Canadians, and human beings. The care Cole takes to name the influential activists and thinkers (especially Black and Indigenous women) who've fought tirelessly for the basic human rights of BIPOC communities is inspiring and major. I plan to revisit my notes and research their work. He continuously demonstrates the mountain of work we (white people) need to do to decolonize our minds and institutions. I also found his constant acknowledgement of the indigenous land that I've settled on momentous in contextualizing his writing and 2017, a year of Black resistance and power. You will devour this critical and powerful book. Can't wait for what Cole has in store in the years to come.
nelesnotes's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Even though I'm not from Canada I can totally see this "we're not America, there's no racism here"-argument (which is a lie) in Germany, where I live, too. I find this important to listen to as a white person and I've learned a lot through this book.
christiswan's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
unaverage_j0's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
capricepause's review against another edition
5.0
Racism is often glossed over in Canada. We look across the invisible border that separates Canada from the USA and we think that it's a truly different place. The author illustrates the constructed social frameworks that encourage and uphold racist behaviour in Canada.
Throughout this novel I was thinking of all of the adults in my life that need to read this book. I would recommend it to all of our parents and grandparents who need to see it to believe it.
We have a lot of work to do to eliminate racism in Canada, the first step is acknowledging the problem in the first place.
Throughout this novel I was thinking of all of the adults in my life that need to read this book. I would recommend it to all of our parents and grandparents who need to see it to believe it.
We have a lot of work to do to eliminate racism in Canada, the first step is acknowledging the problem in the first place.
meekoh's review against another edition
4.0
Great to get a Canadian perspective but be warned, it's very Ontario and Toronto-focused.
Even though it's on the back of the book, I failed to realize that The Skin We're In would only cover events that occurred in 2017. I was expecting a more systemic high-level national critique rather than a collection of incidents.
I would still recommend this book, it was good, but as soon as I finished I felt like I needed to go search for the book I thought this would be.
I believe, and I think Cole mentioned this at one point also, that Canada doesn't collect race data in a lot of sectors which is maybe why he chose this format. An empirical review might be a harder ask.
Even though it's on the back of the book, I failed to realize that The Skin We're In would only cover events that occurred in 2017. I was expecting a more systemic high-level national critique rather than a collection of incidents.
I would still recommend this book, it was good, but as soon as I finished I felt like I needed to go search for the book I thought this would be.
I believe, and I think Cole mentioned this at one point also, that Canada doesn't collect race data in a lot of sectors which is maybe why he chose this format. An empirical review might be a harder ask.
janada59's review against another edition
4.0
This book made me so angry at my government about how they're so smug when it comes to addressing race and justice issues in the United States. Cole sheds light on the racism in Canada that Black Canadians face.