Excellent read! I enjoyed the writing and ideas. Is the West really civilised? And why are some lives more important than others? The book is focused on France but considering what’s going on in the world it can be applied all over.

"When they seem inoffensive, they are primitive folk. When they revolt, they are barbarians."

I really enjoyed reading this essay. Youfsi’s writing is sharp, uncompromising, but never deliberately provocative - because the ones who would be provoked by her arguments are not addressed or even considered. Throughout the chapters, she presents a number of artists and personalities that refuse to be (wholly) integrated into, or rather contaminated by, French imperialist civilization and analyzes the ways in which they retain what she calls barbarism.

I wasn’t familiar with the people and media Youfsi deliberates here, but I found them fascinating to read about. The findings can easily be transposed onto other imperially subjugated people as well. Learning more about the specifically Francophone context has been a treat, though, especially when presented in such a passionate manner.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a digital copy of this book for review consideration.

This book heavily relies on cultural touchstones that I was scrambling to look up alongside the reading, but is well worth it. Yousfi is very talented writer, and her commentary is sharp.

A short, fairly ingenious essay. It is well written, but I have to admit that most of the author's references were completely obscure to me. I guess I just don't fit into the target audience of this one.

Thanks to the publisher, Verso Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.