Play Book Tag discussion

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
5 stars + ♥

After taking a break over the holidays from reading BLM books, I jumped back in with Caste. I have been very much looking forward to reading this book based on the excellent reviews and the fact that I love Wilkerson's writing, and it did not disappoint.

After reading nearly a dozen BLM books, it is hard to avoid redundant themes. I mean, these are the issues that need to be discussed. They are, unfortunately, not new or ground breaking. Systemic racism has been around literally since the beginning of this country.

But, what Wilkerson did, which I have not yet been comprehensively exposed to, is link racism with caste. The two are inextricably interwoven here in the US, but she also compared it to caste systems in other countries, primarily in India but also, to everyone's discomfort because of the apt analogy, to Nazi Germany. I thought she brilliantly explained her premise, rationale, and conclusions.

Wilkerson also incorporates personal anecdotes. As a Black woman traveling the world she experiences sexism and racism, and reflects on the impacts they have had on her life.

The book is excellent, Wilkerson is amazing, and I will read whatever she writes next!

Great review! I read her earlier book, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration and was blown away by the research and story.

I purchased this one when she did a virtual book talk over the summer with Bryan Stevenson but still haven't managed to open it despite the phenomenal discussion.

I gotta read this!
I think I would like to hit The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration first, although there is no reason her books can't be read out of order.

Both of her books are excellent! I also saw her speak when she was doing her Warmth of Other Suns tour and she is just amazing. I was wowed by her as much as her books.

Jen, I wish I would have read Caste earlier when it was Oprah's book club selection. There were a lot of conversations with the author and discussion sessions that would have been interesting, but now I have less motivation to go back and listen/watch because they aren't live.

The style of writing in this book is outstanding. She uses brilliant metaphors, like how America is an old house. We are living in it. We didn't personally cause the leaky roof, bad wiring, etc., but it is now our job to fix it and to make sure new problems don't occur. She has many examples like this, as well as anecdotes from her own life and others'.