sonjaloviisa's review
4.0
Powerful, but also incredibly dense. I listened to this as an audiobook, which was perhaps a mistake. There were so many powerful statements and important ideas being offered with almost every sentence, that it was almost impossible to soak it all in. I barely remember all the things that were discussed, but I do remember how eye-opening every one of them made me feel. Definitely a book that requires multiple reads.
camillabergvall's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
clauleesi's review
4.0
"When something is sensuous, it affects not only your senses but your entire being - your mind, body, and soul. Books are sensuous, for example. You can see, touch, and smell them. You can hear them in audio format and taste their words on your tongue. Books are tangible objects of myriad textures - aged, hardback, hand stitched and so on. They are mentally stimulating, therapeutic, and they potentially transform your deepest thought patterns. They affect you entirely."
Going into [b:Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone|42117327|Sensuous Knowledge A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone|Minna Salami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579613340l/42117327._SY75_.jpg|65707688] I knew it was going to be an experience. I've been following [a:Minna Salami's|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] blog MsAfropolitan and instagram for some years, and not only find the way she sees the world both fascinating and extremely clever, but also love the way she puts this into words.
In [b:Sensuous Knowledge|42117327|Sensuous Knowledge A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone|Minna Salami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579613340l/42117327._SY75_.jpg|65707688], [a:Salami's|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] debut novel, we get to read essay-like chapters that each delve into a different issue surrounding black feminism. We have a chapter of liberation, one of decolonization, of blackness and sisterhood, and so on. I liked this organised way of structuring the book, of how we could properly dive into each issue properly, however, I of course felt some chapters was stronger and some weaker.
For an example, I really enjoyed of decolonization. This chapter was written very matter-of-factly, without ever straying away from the beautiful narration [a:Salami|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] possesses. I love how she combined fact with her own truth and experience - it made for a not only compelling read, but one that felt personal. The way she spoke about decolonizing ones mind was powerful, and something I think will hit home for many.
Another favorite chapter was of beauty. This was the last chapter, and it finished of the story beautifully. Here [a:Salami|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] wrote not only of the necessary, but expected, black beauty and europatriarchal beauty standards, but also of how this affects how we view men as well. How we so very rarely associate men with beauty, even if we of course can see men as handsome or attractive or hot, they are never allowed to be beautiful the soft way women are. This is damaging to everyone involved.
"Nobody asks these questions because men are not judged by beauty. Women are beautiful and men are handsome. Tellingly, there is no political emphasis on handsomeness as there is on beauty. Europatriarchal artists, poets, and philosophers all have opinions on beauty, not handsomeness. Women are objects of beauty, and men analyze beauty."
However, even if I felt that [a:Minna Salami|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] had a spellbinding and refreshing way with words, I sometimes didn't really connect with her writing - mostly, when she talked about anything spiritual. This is very much a personal thing, as I am not a spiritual person what so ever, and in fact have had many unpleasant experiences with such things. As it was, when the author talked about rivers being alive and meditation, I felt myself disconnect.
Another issue I had was that whenever different social struggles came up - racism, homophobia, sexism, classism and so on - in the context of mentioning all the different social struggles that people can go through, ableism was always left forgotten. This might just be me being nitpicky, since [a:Salami|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] is mostly talking about black feminist issues, but when the author brings up examples of how you can be discriminated against and over and over again forgets ableism, it makes me sad, as that issue is always left behind by us able-bodied people. I was disappointed that [a:Salami|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg], such an intelligent and amazing woman, seemingly forgot about the disabled community.
Another thing, and this has nothing to do with the actual book, was that the audiobook was somewhat hard to get through. I've listened to books by Robin Miles before, and she has always done amazingly, but here, especially in the start, she sounded a bit like a robot which brought down the reading experience for me. So I definitely would recommend picking up the physical book instead.
Despite these issues, I still found myself really enjoying [b:Sensuous Knowledge|42117327|Sensuous Knowledge A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone|Minna Salami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579613340l/42117327._SY75_.jpg|65707688]. It was gut punching and true, and even if I would have loved even more insights into [a:Salami's|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] own experience of being a black woman, I also would love if she would delve into fiction one day. Her gorgeous, colourful language would be perfect for those kinds of stories as well, and they need to be told in every way possible.
Going into [b:Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone|42117327|Sensuous Knowledge A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone|Minna Salami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579613340l/42117327._SY75_.jpg|65707688] I knew it was going to be an experience. I've been following [a:Minna Salami's|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] blog MsAfropolitan and instagram for some years, and not only find the way she sees the world both fascinating and extremely clever, but also love the way she puts this into words.
In [b:Sensuous Knowledge|42117327|Sensuous Knowledge A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone|Minna Salami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579613340l/42117327._SY75_.jpg|65707688], [a:Salami's|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] debut novel, we get to read essay-like chapters that each delve into a different issue surrounding black feminism. We have a chapter of liberation, one of decolonization, of blackness and sisterhood, and so on. I liked this organised way of structuring the book, of how we could properly dive into each issue properly, however, I of course felt some chapters was stronger and some weaker.
For an example, I really enjoyed of decolonization. This chapter was written very matter-of-factly, without ever straying away from the beautiful narration [a:Salami|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] possesses. I love how she combined fact with her own truth and experience - it made for a not only compelling read, but one that felt personal. The way she spoke about decolonizing ones mind was powerful, and something I think will hit home for many.
Another favorite chapter was of beauty. This was the last chapter, and it finished of the story beautifully. Here [a:Salami|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] wrote not only of the necessary, but expected, black beauty and europatriarchal beauty standards, but also of how this affects how we view men as well. How we so very rarely associate men with beauty, even if we of course can see men as handsome or attractive or hot, they are never allowed to be beautiful the soft way women are. This is damaging to everyone involved.
"Nobody asks these questions because men are not judged by beauty. Women are beautiful and men are handsome. Tellingly, there is no political emphasis on handsomeness as there is on beauty. Europatriarchal artists, poets, and philosophers all have opinions on beauty, not handsomeness. Women are objects of beauty, and men analyze beauty."
However, even if I felt that [a:Minna Salami|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] had a spellbinding and refreshing way with words, I sometimes didn't really connect with her writing - mostly, when she talked about anything spiritual. This is very much a personal thing, as I am not a spiritual person what so ever, and in fact have had many unpleasant experiences with such things. As it was, when the author talked about rivers being alive and meditation, I felt myself disconnect.
Another issue I had was that whenever different social struggles came up - racism, homophobia, sexism, classism and so on - in the context of mentioning all the different social struggles that people can go through, ableism was always left forgotten. This might just be me being nitpicky, since [a:Salami|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] is mostly talking about black feminist issues, but when the author brings up examples of how you can be discriminated against and over and over again forgets ableism, it makes me sad, as that issue is always left behind by us able-bodied people. I was disappointed that [a:Salami|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg], such an intelligent and amazing woman, seemingly forgot about the disabled community.
Another thing, and this has nothing to do with the actual book, was that the audiobook was somewhat hard to get through. I've listened to books by Robin Miles before, and she has always done amazingly, but here, especially in the start, she sounded a bit like a robot which brought down the reading experience for me. So I definitely would recommend picking up the physical book instead.
Despite these issues, I still found myself really enjoying [b:Sensuous Knowledge|42117327|Sensuous Knowledge A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone|Minna Salami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579613340l/42117327._SY75_.jpg|65707688]. It was gut punching and true, and even if I would have loved even more insights into [a:Salami's|6939067|Minna Salami|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361837628p2/6939067.jpg] own experience of being a black woman, I also would love if she would delve into fiction one day. Her gorgeous, colourful language would be perfect for those kinds of stories as well, and they need to be told in every way possible.