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A review by beansandrice
The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon
challenging
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.5
This is a classic for a reason, and is an essential read for anyone curious about the colonial and post-colonial world.
I can't count the number of times I've seen people reference or cite this book. That said, I often see people talk about it with regards to Fanon's views on violence. While this is an essential part of the book and undeniably resonant, Fanon doesn't spend that much of the text needing to justify anti-colonial violence. His treatment of it at the start of the book is all he needs. Rather than focusing on "justifying" violence, he spends a much greater portion of the book discussing the post-colonial bourgeoisie, and the broad state of society when a colony attempts to gain freedom. He analyzes all of this from the zoomed out government and society levels, and also from the very individual and psychological levels. The case studies that the book ends with are incredibly powerful, and in my memory they will remain the centerpiece of my perspectives on this book, even as the years pass.
I can't count the number of times I've seen people reference or cite this book. That said, I often see people talk about it with regards to Fanon's views on violence. While this is an essential part of the book and undeniably resonant, Fanon doesn't spend that much of the text needing to justify anti-colonial violence. His treatment of it at the start of the book is all he needs. Rather than focusing on "justifying" violence, he spends a much greater portion of the book discussing the post-colonial bourgeoisie, and the broad state of society when a colony attempts to gain freedom. He analyzes all of this from the zoomed out government and society levels, and also from the very individual and psychological levels. The case studies that the book ends with are incredibly powerful, and in my memory they will remain the centerpiece of my perspectives on this book, even as the years pass.