Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation Into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin by Megan Rosenbloom

11 reviews

percy_march's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Overall, this was a pretty good read. It definitely got better as the book progressed, but I did become very invested in and entertained by the stories told by Rosenbloom. We got the French Revolution, we got body-snatchers, we got death positivity, antique book loving, and discussions of body materiality.

What really pissed me off though is her dismissal of any other viewpoints on anthropodermic bibliopegy. She would use any topic to bring up how books containing human remains shouldn't be re-intered and stayed remarkably impartial - uncharacteristically so - when bringing up NAGPRA and repatriation. It was very... "neo-liberal millennial" style of speaking on the issues of historic racism, sexism, and medical abuse. 

Also, if you try to go for the audiobook - the narrator kept doing accents for people she was quoting/referencing, and it was too much. It really, really needed to stop.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Racism, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Slavery, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Sexual violence and Terminal illness

In-depth discussion of the process of tanning leather

nekoshka's review

dark emotional funny fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Racism and Slavery

savvy999's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, and Medical trauma

moore2030's review

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Genocide, Racism, Slavery, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

maryellen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Murder

chloesnotscared's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Genocide, Racism, and Slavery

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Racism, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, and War

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual violence, and Transphobia

Descriptions of the Holocaust and other acts taken/beliefs espoused by the Nazi Party throughout WWII era. Descriptions of tanning process and related topics, of both animal and human skin. Discussion of medical ethics and violations thereof, including desecration of corpses. Mostly allegorical mentions of sexual violence/rape.

brittanythechronicreader's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Medical content

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Murder

horrorandscience's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Antisemitism

cryptidkay's review against another edition

dark informative relaxing medium-paced

4.5

Normally, the only NF books I read are "thrilling" true crime ones (I'm aware it's a problem... you should see my netflix suggestions...). I saw this book referenced in The Madman's Library: The Strangest Books, Manuscripts and Other Literary Curiosities from History and, due to the macabre subject, knew it'd be the next nf title I read. I put it on hold at the library and profited!

50 pages in I'd had a page of notes, my own copy in the mail, and several imaginary conversations I'd like to have with the author. Librarian to librarian conversations.

The book and author's death-positive look at the practice of anthropodermic bibliopegy is fantastic. Rosenbloom matches my awe and fascination with these books while acknowledging the issues surrounding their conservation, curation, and creation; the classist origins of the practice and the medical field that made it popular, how the nazis were never actually involved (Whaaaat?), and how we as a contemporary society can deal with death better.

Rosenbloom's work is easy to read and easy to follow. My only wish is that this be republished as an illustrated edition so the reader can see some of the specimens and examples (especially of the beautiful reading rooms) she references in the text.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Murder, and War

This book is explicitly about books bound in human skin. Often the skin is not taken with a person's consent and is taken by a person (usually a medical "professional") in a place of power. Also there's a whole chapter on concentration camps and WWII.