Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Kasta: Korene našej nespokojenosti by Isabel Wilkerson

24 reviews

plethora's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Isabel Wilkerson expertly presents the reality of North America in an unmistakable new light through drawing connections to both India’s and Germany’s caste systems. In a stark, honest, and objective compilation of historical events around the world, Wilkerson shows America who they are, and leaves the reader to decide what to do about it.

I have not experienced such an enlightening reframing of cultural norms since Chanel Miller’s “Know My Name”. Every person in the western world, and perhaps beyond, can benefit greatly by reading this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Moderate: Ableism, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, War, and Classism

useyourgoodeye's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

This book took me 16 days to read because I had to step away from it a lot to process it fully. Very eye opening and there is a movie out called Origin about the book that I'll be watching soon (Hulu). This is a very difficult and emotional book to get through. It requires you to examine your own life and the lives of others at a level which can make you uncomfortable, sad, and angry. Totally worth it though. It should be used in colleges across the world as required reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

zombiezami's review against another edition

emotional informative slow-paced

2.75

I’m unsure why this book has become so popular. The theory the author puts forth is somewhat incoherent and is held together by a bunch of anecdata. I’m glad I read it so that I can be aware of its presence in the zeitgeist, but I got very little of the actual content. The author contends her little with colonization in her book, which I feel is a huge absence. She seems like the kind of person who wants to “save the soul” of America, when I’m over here shouting #landback. At the end she gives an impassioned plea for everyone to just be exposed to the true nature of US history, that that would cause everyone to wake up and fight for justice. I really don’t think that’s the case.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Abortion, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Casteism

chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism

Moderate: Sexism and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Mass/school shootings

makiba's review against another edition

challenging informative sad medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, and Murder

Minor: Suicide

hannahwinston's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective tense slow-paced

4.0

Whatever you think you know about the origins of racism/classism/caste, this book goes even further.

While I knew a lot about the American Caste, I did not know how much it influenced Nazis. There were several lines that blew my mind but this one, about selling souvenirs from lynchings during the Jim Crow Era, knocked me off my feet:

“This was singularly American. Even the Nazis did not stoop to selling souvenirs of Auschwitz, wrote time magazine many years later.”

The biggest takeaway/reminder:

“Evil asks little of the dominant caste other than to sit back and do nothing. All that it needs from bystanders is their silent complicity in the evil committed on their behalf.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

readandfindout's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

4.0

Style/writing: 3.5 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Perspective: 4 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny

micaelamariem's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

 found this book to be very educational, motivational, and eye-opening. It was interesting, though brutal, to learn the full scale of the history of caste in america and how awful we can be as humans. I think everyone could benefit from reading this. However, though I agree with Wilkerson on everything including the politics of today, I can see how it might polarize people to where they’d miss the point she’s trying to make. I also think the cohesiveness of the narrative could have been better. Still, overall a great read of a dark history and startling present! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

leneliest's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism

lpfoley's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

A really brilliant take on the history of what it means to be Black in America and the social constructs that create and perpetuate oppression. Accessible, thorough, and inviting, Wilkerson walks the line between calling out the behaviors and attitudes that have created what she designated as a caste system in the US as well as discussing the broader pressures at work to sustain it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Medical trauma