This book is an attempt to put forth a paradigm shift in the way we think not only about animal liberation and antiracism, but oppression as a whole. It's a challenge to the mainstream viewpoint of intersectionality, as well as an exploration of animality and the ways in which white supremacy seeks to transform and control those it oppresses, both through literal consumption and through the spiritual and metaphorical.

For such a short book, it packs a lot inside, and for the most part manages to tie its many ideas together well. Ko's critique of intersectionality as it's come to be presented in mainstream activism is spot on. What aims to tie-in oppressions and highlight their connections ends up looking more like a bunch of disconnected layers being piled onto each other, and easily leads to the sort of pointless infighting over what identity is most important to focus on that infests so much of activist spaces. 

Unfortunately, the alternatives Ko presents are not entirely clear. There's a good metaphor of a house with many different entrances, showing how no matter what specific angle oppression is being tackled from, it's all leading to the same place. But the book could have done with a more thorough explanation of exactly how Ko's new paradigm works in practice. Ko makes many passionate and powerful statements, but upon finishing it, I was left feeling like, while I understood the goal and higher feeling of the new paradigm, I had no idea how it should specifically be applied in practice, and replace our current one. I suppose it is natural for theory to not be focused on concrete, specific practice, but I still feel it could have done with a bit more, as many of these ideas are excellent but just didn't feel properly expanded on or clarified. 

There's also a bizarre section where the author seems to suggest that Black men are incapable of oppressing women in any structural form given they are also victims of white supremacy and thus its systems of patriarchy. It seems a very sweeping dismissal of all that Black feminists have sought to have acknowledged and fought against, and does not follow through as a very logical conclusion. Being oppressed does not mean you are incapable of participating in structural oppression yourself. 

While weak in these areas, the book shines in delving into symbols and aspects of oppression I haven't seen discussed as much, under what the author defines as "zoological witchcraft." This highlights  a connection between the control and dominance of non-human animals with the same kind of control enforced upon marginalized people. The very category of "animal" is used as a box to put someone in to render them into property. Historically, enslaved people's flesh and skin was eaten and/or turned into furniture, purses, and trinkets, as a final, literal form of consumption by white supremacy.

The Get Out analysis takes up a large portion of the book, and I was wondering how such a specific focus would fit into the larger whole. I actually found it really crystalized many of the points the author made about animality. Certain sections I partially understood in earlier sections were made clear, such as how taxidermy works as a symbol of white supremacy. I'm glad I read this just for the deeper view of the film it gave, delving into symbolism that even most in-depth analyses don't focus on, including symbolism not just of the cotton stuffing in the chair Chris is trapped in, but the cow's skin it is made from.

So many of these points around white supremacy as consumption of flesh and spirit were illustrated perfectly by the movie, I don't find it strange at all such a seemingly narrow focus was applied. 

Reading this certainly gets you thinking, whether you end up agreeing with all the author's points or not.  I was lucky enough to get a copy full of a prior reader's notes, where they expanded on certain points in the text or critiqued/questioned them. I enjoyed this experience to facilitate further questioning, as there are so many bold ideas in here, some more properly backed up than others, but all worthwhile to think about.