Caste was a really hard book to read and I am so very glad I did (twice). Ms. Wilkerson wrote the Pulitzer Prize for her book The Warmth of Other Suns about the great migration of African Americans from the south to the north and west after the failed reconstruction of the 1870’s. That was a powerful read for me.
This book, however, shook me to my core. The author compares and contrasts the American treatment of its Black citizens with the methods the Nazis used against their enemies and with the centuries-long caste system of India. I was puzzled by the choice of comparisons until I read the book. This awakened my consciousness to the reality a large percentage of our population live that I’ve never had to think about. I was in a state of shock reading through it the first time. I left it for a few months, then read it again, underlining particular significant passages.
This is one of the most important books I’ve read for my own understanding of the world and I am thankful to the author for her beautifully written, wrenching work.