Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Caste: The Lies That Divide Us by Isabel Wilkerson

11 reviews

grubloved's review against another edition

it spends so much time trying to assure the reader that racism is real that it doesn't actually do any meaningful analysis?? it kind of reads like a baby's first racism primer. weird also that it kind of handwaves the entire existence of every racial group other than black and white; it makes sense once you understand it is specifically a book about antiblack racism in america, but even the book seems confused about what its purpose is, continually claiming to describe an entire system and then only fixating on one aspect -- feels a little shallow. 

also weird that india's caste system is a selling point but is honestly barely present in the book, and that nazi germany is consistently held up as another state creating an underclass (the goal wasn't an underclass of jews. it was no more jews. this is not very analogous to a caste system). 

the alpha wolf chapter was also absolutely atrocious and i think is a really good example of a lot of the problems i had with the text. it was really strange for the book to claim that racism's big downsides are largely that naturally superior people who happen to be in the wrong caste can't assume their rightful place as leaders, and that naturally inferior people who are in the upper caste should be allowed to be ruled by their betters ??? it continually seems to insist that hierarchy is not the problem, but that it is simply a wrong hierarchy and that we should adjust to follow a better natural order. just really really strange to read in a book about racism.

i really enjoyed the pillars of caste section but the rest of it just wasn't the indepth reading i was here for. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Confinement, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Classism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Rape, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Child death, Colonisation, Torture, Racism, and Murder

lizsurber's review against another edition

challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Misogyny, Deportation, Antisemitism, Child death, Police brutality, Slavery, and Xenophobia

bi_n_large's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Torture, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Terminal illness, Classism, and Death

Minor: Death of parent, War, and Grief

arthur_harris's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

This book pulls absolutely no punches. It lays out the facts of its subject matter with a kind of frank, unflinching look at the truth that is so constantly softened and blunted in history. Deeply, grimly informative on the true history of the Black experience in the United States. A harsh reality check for those - like me - who grew up with a whitewashed view of American history. While this book is a difficult read in many ways, that is part of what makes it such a necessary one. It forces the reader to examine the deeply ingrained racism baked into the foundation of America, and the subsequent role of the (non-Black) reader in that racist system. An absolutely vital piece of literature. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Police brutality, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Colonisation, Slavery, Blood, Medical trauma, Racism, Child death, and Murder

youreawizardjerry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Blood, Bullying, Body horror, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Death, and Death of parent

fromjuliereads's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring slow-paced

This was definitely a dense read but so important. It had some really interesting insight and comparisons between the caste systems of India, Nazi Germany, and the United States. 
There were anecdotes from the author's own experiences which lended to proving the points outlined. And some of the information provided was interesting, important, difficult, brought forth a lot of thoughts. I especially found it interesting when Wilkerson discussed the Black anthropologists who went to the South, as this was not something I had heard about previously. And I liked having some of the references to things I had studied about or seen in Germany. 

The one thing I will say is that sometimes the switches between the three caste systems felt jarring, as it flipped from one to another in a single paragraph or page. I think it could have been laid out more cleanly where it didn't feel like a tangent.
But all in all, definitely a book that should be read widely.

(I'm not adding a rating for non fiction because I never know how to rate them properly.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Body shaming, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery

Minor: Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, and Xenophobia

Lynchings are discussed, treatments of Dalits in India

beholderess's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Child death, Slavery, Police brutality, and Murder

aqtbenz's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Child death, Death, Genocide, Grief, Xenophobia, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Police brutality, Murder, and Hate crime

annabunce's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Read this book. Isabel Wilkerson does a incredible job framing and explaining the American caste system within the context of other caste systems to fully illustrate the history of slavery and slavery's long lasting impact on Black Americans. I feel like reading this book I realized just how successful the American narrative has been at downplaying the horrors and systemic normalized racism faced by Black Americans. Definitely the kind of book that will shift your thinking and make you look at your world in a new way. This pulled back the curtain and made me consider Canada's own caste system in a whole new light. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Trafficking, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, Police brutality, Murder, Medical trauma, Incest, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, and Child abuse

mignonne's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Antisemitism, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Torture