Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth Kara

9 reviews

katharina90's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

"Please tell the people in your country, a child in the Congo dies every day so that they can plug in their phones."

Whatever you think you know about mineral mining in the Congo, the reality is so much worse. 

Siddharth Kara paints a devastating picture of the dystopian world we live in and the cruelty most of us in the Global North are complicit in every day. 

"Nothing looks the same after a trip to the Congo. The world back home no longer makes sense. It is difficult to reconcile how it even inhabits the same planet. Neatly arranged mountains of vegetables at grocery stores seem vulgar. Bright lights and flushing toilets seem like sorcery. Clean air and water feel like a crime. The markers of wealth and consumption appear violent."

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, and Trafficking

Minor: Alcoholism

sareidle's review

dark informative sad slow-paced

3.75

An extremely important book that highlights the human cost of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The author did a pretty good job focusing on the Congolese and their experiences as artisanal miners. It was devastatingly sad to learn of the generational suffering in the country. My only critique is that the author needed to provide a better call to action towards the conclusion. Yes, it is important for the Congolese to tell their own stories, but what can the international community do to make that possible and improve their conditions in the meantime?

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

Minor: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

chanatova's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ohlhauc's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad fast-paced

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Alcoholism, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

ecn's review

5.0

Mandatory reading!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

rrocketqueen's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

5.0

A terribly upsetting must read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Medical content, and Murder

sarahdkdc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

4.25

I think this book was written with a lot of compassion and care. I really like that Kara mentioned the privilege he has by way of his appearance, and how that aided him in his studies in the Congo. I also appreciate that Kara expresses at the end of the book that the people who should be telling these stories are Congolese people themselves. I guess we have to start somewhere. I hope Kara continues his trips to the Congo and tries to help amplify Congolese voices.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, and Colonisation

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, and Blood

stephanieluxton's review

dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

Thos is an important book. The injustice happening in the congo in real time is unimaginable. 

I can appreciate all the work that the author did to research and write this book. No one seems to really know or talk about cobalt mining even though it's directly linked to our rechargeable devices. I think this book will become more important now that electric cars are being pushed so heavily.

It really makes you think about what other injustices are occuring in the world. Our first world problems suddenly seem so superficial after reading a book like this.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Nothing is overly graphic.

bandysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Cobalt Red is a book on a subject that I was vaguely aware of, but definitely should know more about. This is one of those books that is horrifically depressing due to the subject matter and at the same time extremely well researched and written. I wish that this could be made required reading when purchasing a smart device. The DRC has been brutalized by colonialism and civil war, so to see it further exploited by Cobalt and Coltan mining is just heartbreaking. 

I did listen to this book on audiobook and I felt that the audio was very well done. Sometimes non-fiction can be a bit dry, but this was narrated well, super compelling, and kept me interested in learning more. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic