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juliston's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.25
You can't talk about racism and white privilege without talking about class, and this book does an excellent job of dissecting some of the issues surrounding the myths that pit the 'white working class' against people of colour.
(An aside, for those that think they're 'not racist but what about poor white people': if you genuinely cared about poor people you'd stop voting for Tory governments)
This is a hard book! Not just hard to do the learning as a white person raised by one parent who was raised white and privileged in apartheid south Africa and one who attended some of the most exclusive educational establishments in the country. Not just hard to be faced with some pretty difficult to swallow gaps being filled in in British, evidently very racist, history but also genuinely a hard book to read.
I don't mean it's badly written, it isnt at all. The prose is engaging and easy to follow, but fuck me this guy is so much cleverer than me. I am by my own admission very smart, very good at reading and have nearly a decade of higher education under my belt, and I'm still having to look up words from this book. I'm having to look up a lot of dates for historical events too. To be fair, that probably stems from my own abysmal knowledge of world history. When I was supposed to be learning history in school I was a lot more interested in shrinking my body and learning to smoke cigarettes (both pasttimes I thankfully rarely indulge in now) and I have never really bothered to rectify these gaping holes in my knowledge.
Reading Natives was an active process of learning for me. It is a fantastic, eye opening book. Both packed with an incredible amount of historical information (there are 30 full pages of references and notes at the end) and also deeply personal and moving. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for some additional perspective on their British history, for anyone that thinks British people are white by default, or for anyone that thinks white privilege doesn't apply to poor people.
(An aside, for those that think they're 'not racist but what about poor white people': if you genuinely cared about poor people you'd stop voting for Tory governments)
This is a hard book! Not just hard to do the learning as a white person raised by one parent who was raised white and privileged in apartheid south Africa and one who attended some of the most exclusive educational establishments in the country. Not just hard to be faced with some pretty difficult to swallow gaps being filled in in British, evidently very racist, history but also genuinely a hard book to read.
I don't mean it's badly written, it isnt at all. The prose is engaging and easy to follow, but fuck me this guy is so much cleverer than me. I am by my own admission very smart, very good at reading and have nearly a decade of higher education under my belt, and I'm still having to look up words from this book. I'm having to look up a lot of dates for historical events too. To be fair, that probably stems from my own abysmal knowledge of world history. When I was supposed to be learning history in school I was a lot more interested in shrinking my body and learning to smoke cigarettes (both pasttimes I thankfully rarely indulge in now) and I have never really bothered to rectify these gaping holes in my knowledge.
Reading Natives was an active process of learning for me. It is a fantastic, eye opening book. Both packed with an incredible amount of historical information (there are 30 full pages of references and notes at the end) and also deeply personal and moving. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for some additional perspective on their British history, for anyone that thinks British people are white by default, or for anyone that thinks white privilege doesn't apply to poor people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
eatwritereadrepeat's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
esme_may's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Everyone in the UK should read this. It would make a great introduction to reading about race as well, it's petty accessible and the narrative voice is delightfully sarcastic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Genocide, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, and Classism
Minor: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Slavery
vampirefwoodstock's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Murder
mosswood's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
This was a difficult book to read in many respects but Akala’s incredibly talented writing and intricacy of perception made it difficult for me to put down. He provides such clear statistics whilst also conveying such humility. The book is an incredibly useful tool and was immensely valuable to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
flowingleaves's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
A very interesting part biography, part history book that shines a very important light on many aspects of Britian and its culture and history. The author's experiences were very visceral and you could tell how much they shaped him. The writing was a bit not up to par in some places, but overall it was a very informative and important read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Classism
readingthroughinfinity's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This is an excellent, insightful piece of nonfiction about the history of racism and empire in the UK. It's clear that a lot of research went into this, as Akala delves into the Britain's colonial past and the damaging legacy it left behind for the countries colonised and in the way people of colour are treated in he UK today. He also discusses his childhood and own experiences of racism, weaving these anecdotes and stories together with the wider discussion of the issues faced by global African communities. A fantastic piece of nonfiction and one that I wish everyone (but especially white people) in the UK would read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, Police brutality, and Colonisation
jasleen14's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Racism, Slavery, and Xenophobia
thesinginglights's review against another edition
medium-paced
5.0
Akala is one of my favourite thinkers. Clear-eyed, well-informed, and just overall interesting. This is a brilliant blend of Akala's life and the socio-political context that informs him: he being a mixed-race man growing up in London, a fact that made his white mother be disowned by her family.
His story informs aspects of race in the UK from history and concurrently with his life, argued with accessible prose, similar to how he speaks in public. That's part of the draw: it's informative without being overwhelming and speaks deeply and broadly on topics. The one thing I would have liked a bit more of is his reflections on his adult life, of his music career and where he is currently. We get glimpses of it (especially for racial profiling) but the bulk of his personal stuff is from his childhood, especially when he was being a "roadman" in his teens.
His story informs aspects of race in the UK from history and concurrently with his life, argued with accessible prose, similar to how he speaks in public. That's part of the draw: it's informative without being overwhelming and speaks deeply and broadly on topics. The one thing I would have liked a bit more of is his reflections on his adult life, of his music career and where he is currently. We get glimpses of it (especially for racial profiling) but the bulk of his personal stuff is from his childhood, especially when he was being a "roadman" in his teens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
britgirlreading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, Murder, and Classism