Can someone tell me where September went? It seems to have disappeared — poof! — like a puff of smoke. Here we are on the first day of October and that means a new LWD Book Club selection. This month we will be reading a book my son highly recommended to me. Caste: The Origins of our Discontents is also an Oprah Book Club pick and if it’s good enough for Oprah, it’s good enough for me!
This post may contain affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more here.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
This month’s book club selection isn’t light and jolly but the subject is important. It’s good to face the tough topics now and then. I’m ready to dive into this one but I plan to also choose a lighter read, as well. I like to have at least two books going at once so I can choose what I’m in the mood for. Anyone else do that?
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
by Isobel Wilkerson
Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more.
Using riveting stories about people—including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others—she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day.
She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their out-cast of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.
Whew. I foresee a lot of deep thought and soul-searching ahead with this one. If you’ve read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts. And I’m always interested in hearing what others are reading. Leave a comment with your current or most recent read.
You May Also Enjoy…
Travel Books ~ Armchair Adventure
LWD’s Favorite Francophile Books
Click here to see all LWD Book Club selections.
Interesting selection.
I generally have two books on the go at least because of having whatever I listen to on CD or cassette while settling to sleep and whatever I’ve got on the go on my Kindle. Sometimes I might even have more than one on the go on my Kindle, or possibly something on the go in braille or as a PDF on my computer too, but not very often.