OTHERNESS: SOULS OF BROWN WOMEN by De.B. DuboisMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Definitely not what I had expected. Powerfully penned, this book will bring out all those deep-rooted anger that had once consumed many Indians living abroad. I have lived all my life in Europe before moving to The States. I won't say I have faced any of the situations Ms. Dubois has mentioned in this book, but yes, that underlying feeling of not belonging always stayed with me. I, personally feel a brown woman starts feeling this acute sense of not belonging from the time she leaves the threshold of her parent's house. But then we are so used to it, we forget that this is not the norm that the others face. Ms. Dubois has raised many questions in this book which made me think - was I always feeling this controlled - by my family or the society at large? Simple things like voting, education or even choosing my life partner - was this never my birthright? Did the brown women of my past generation fight for my rights? My rights - that I always take for granted.
I loved Ms. Dubois's voice. A slight aggression, a suppressed anger. And above all - raising all those questions which the 20 me had often asked - the 30 me had fought for and 40 me is slowly stopping to care about. Well done, Ms. Dubois.
What could have earned this book a 5 star was injecting a sense of humor or satire. It became a serious read and I had to keep the book down a few times just to gather up my thoughts. Of course, this topic is very serious but sometimes, laughter imparts the right knowledge the right way.
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