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Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'
Africa Is Not A Country: Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa by Dipo Faloyin
17 reviews
franceselsie's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Gore
kayschwe's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Slavery, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and War
questingnotcoasting's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
This was a fascinating read. Africa is thought of as a monolith in a way that other continents aren't and this does a brilliant job in dismantling myths and stereotypes to counteract that view. It was engaging and accessible throughout and I really loved Faloyin's tone, which is so informative while also being funny. The topics it covers are very wide ranging and include the Scramble For Africa, dictatorships, depictions of Africa in Hollywood and white saviourism. I've previously studied and read about Europe's colonisation of Africa but still learnt a lot from this and it's made me look out for more books on related topics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and War
caidyn's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.25
Excellent read. This book looks at a wide variety of issues. Racism, misconceptions, dictatorships, colonialism. It's wide reaching and very easy to get into.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Colonisation
Moderate: War
random19379's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
solaria's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
medium-paced
Prior to reading, I had very limited knowledge about the African continent. Whatever knowledge I did possess was informed through school fundraisers and throwaway comments about how disadvantaged the "country" was. This book was a match made in heaven, as it targets that exact rhetoric that was drilled into me during school.
This book is bursting at the seams with personality. It's packed with witty humour, insightful personal reflections from Faloyin as a Nigerian person and cracking analyses of the stereotypes surrounding Africa that disadvantage the people within it. This book sets the record straight - Africa is not a homogenous continent filled with "primitive" people destined for poverty and suffering. Africa is a continent that was devastated by oppressive colonial regimes that saw thousands of ethnic groups merged into 54 poorly-designed countries and left to deal with the effects of colonisation. I loved how it compared the historical (which for some of these countries is less than 50 years ago) and the modern-day context within these countries. One might assume that covering 54 countries in one book is a very big task, but Faloyin doesn't bite off more than he can chew. He focuses on specific examples and case studies that he's clearly researched thoroughly and well-versed in to ensure that he doesn't cover the politics or history of specific countries he's not familiar with.
My favourite parts of this book were the focus on the white-saviour complex in television, film and charities. The creative liberties that were taken, such as the intro to Chapter 2 being written like a screenplay or a later chapter providing a satirical guide on "how to make a movie about Africa" were brilliant! I can't wait to see what Faloyin writes next because this is an absolutely phenomenal debut novel.
This book is bursting at the seams with personality. It's packed with witty humour, insightful personal reflections from Faloyin as a Nigerian person and cracking analyses of the stereotypes surrounding Africa that disadvantage the people within it. This book sets the record straight - Africa is not a homogenous continent filled with "primitive" people destined for poverty and suffering. Africa is a continent that was devastated by oppressive colonial regimes that saw thousands of ethnic groups merged into 54 poorly-designed countries and left to deal with the effects of colonisation. I loved how it compared the historical (which for some of these countries is less than 50 years ago) and the modern-day context within these countries. One might assume that covering 54 countries in one book is a very big task, but Faloyin doesn't bite off more than he can chew. He focuses on specific examples and case studies that he's clearly researched thoroughly and well-versed in to ensure that he doesn't cover the politics or history of specific countries he's not familiar with.
My favourite parts of this book were the focus on the white-saviour complex in television, film and charities. The creative liberties that were taken, such as the intro to Chapter 2 being written like a screenplay or a later chapter providing a satirical guide on "how to make a movie about Africa" were brilliant! I can't wait to see what Faloyin writes next because this is an absolutely phenomenal debut novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Police brutality, Colonisation, and War
kirstym25's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery and Colonisation
Minor: Torture and War
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