Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

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

16 reviews

andeulea's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative slow-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Slavery, Violence, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape and Torture

Minor: War

franmoldaschl's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This book isn't enjoyable, but it is well written and desperately important. 

I read it as an environmentalist, and don't think any line captures the need for this book as well as one quoted by a Nun on page 244 of the hardback UK edition I read.

How can a sustainable future be built through sacrificing the very bearers of that future, through depriving children's well-being, and worse even, through depriving children the right to be.

I wish this was fiction, or history, but the enforced labour of children in the Congo is very real, and very present. Lithium ion batteries are not the answer to the climate crisis, and if they're to continue as our interim step, we need to ensure that those producing the raw materials are protected.

Unfortunately, there are no actionable ways to do that at the end of the book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Racism, Slavery, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

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

kendal_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark informative medium-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infertility, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexual violence

haleybird's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

This book was incredibly thought provoking and informative, it’s just really dense and was personally hard for me to get through, but I’m glad I did! It’s difficult for me to keep up with so many acronyms, company names, so much data and stats, etc. 

Regardless of that, however, I do believe this is a book that anyone who uses rechargeable electronics or electric vehicles should read. The more people know about the atrocities that continue to be committed in the Congo for the sole purpose of exploiting their resources, the better. 

I will surely be much more conscious about my consumption of products that use rechargeable batteries moving forward, as I can’t in good conscience keep blindly consuming while children, women, and men in the Congo continue to die indiscriminately. We all need to do better!  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

meat_muffin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Slavery, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Medical trauma

Minor: Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

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

scmiller's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death and Car accident

lowkeymarie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Death of parent