ohhek's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
chirson's review against another edition
5.0
I started reading the NetGalley ARC only to end up buying the paperback before I was halfway through. This is an urgent, important book of ideas, and while it may not be as earth-shatteringly eye-opening (at least for me!) as No Logo, or (particularly) Shock Doctrine, it is still smart and cohesive, making more sense of things as they are, and those things are uncanny and wrong. Klein uses the once-common confusion that made people mix her up with Naomi Wolf to talk about the alliance between various ostensibly non-fascist, ostensibly far-from-fascist groups and discourses with the far right - from crunchy parenting and tradwifing to wellness and pseudo-ecological groups, to (post)feminists and terfs, there are people for whom individualism and belief in their own supremacy (inherent or achieved, often located in the [detoxified] body) makes a movement to the right an appealing fit, and that's how precious time is lost that we should be using to save the planet. This book manages to be funny at times, personal and clever, and reading it is reassuring in a way - that you're not wrong to see this, and that the unexplainable redpilling is explainable, and even, maybe, that some could be brought back from the mirror world.
I really appreciated it, and I'm glad Klein keeps working hard to change and improve the world.
I really appreciated it, and I'm glad Klein keeps working hard to change and improve the world.
meganpbell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
Facing her own doppelgänger, leftist activist Naomi Klein explores the absurdity, inversion, and surreality of our cultural and political moment, offering piercing perspectives on self-branding and conspiracy theories, climate change and the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, and more. Sprawling, funny, intellectually invigorating, and disturbing in equal measure—if you get lost following Klein through the mirror world, you’ll end with your feet on more solid ground.
Content Warnings
Minor: Hate crime, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Ableism, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Pandemic/Epidemic, Colonisation, and Death of parent
katebyln's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
Incredibly well written. I listened to the audiobook - which she narrates herself - and it was definitely difficult listening, at times. However, it made me feel like I was, in fact, not going mad (and best yet) not alone in feeling like I was going mad! She identifies the social problems we are all facing, identifies why we are all feeling these feelings, and she gives us a lot to think about through incredibly well-researched writing. I docked it .5 because around the midpoint, it felt like she was repeating certain elements of her argument. However, the final few chapters really brought it back around for me. Cannot recommend enough!