Talking to Strangers

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I found it interesting and compelling in a multitude of ways. While I do think that some of Gladwell's points are oversimplified or could be considered common sense, I did not have a problem with this. I like to read Gladwell's works to get a brief overview of a topic– not an in-depth exploration of every last detail for each theory.

I also felt that many things discussed in this book were applicable in my own life. Some things discussed were things I hadn't thought much about before, but, since having read this, I can only acknowledge that those things do hold merit.

So, if I enjoyed it so much, why the 2 stars?

Gladwell approached way too many delicate topics with an air of utmost insensitivity. He talked about pedophiles, rape, and police brutality in the same way that you would talk about spaghetti boiling on the stove. And, unfortunately, in doing so, he undermined many of the points he made simply because I was unable to take him seriously when he dipped into a murky argument centered on victim-blaming. In these three parts of the book, was there miscommunication? Yes. Obviously. But there was also fear driven by child molestation, rape culture, and racism that each played significant roles in these three topics that Gladwell simply glazed over. You cannot simply act as if miscommunication was the only thing that went wrong in these cases in order to support your argument. Doing so is an injustice to the victims in each of those situations.

So, yes, I enjoyed it. But morally, I cannot give this book a higher rating without feeling like I've wronged the victims Gladwell portrayed as contributors to their own dismal fates.