Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

269 reviews

gimmemango's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault

asililydying's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Racism, Slavery, and Torture

graceybookster's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

5.0

🎧 Audiobook 🎧

WOW! This was outstanding!

I came across this via someone on bookstagram and was so captivated by the blurb I just had to read it! 

This is not your usual historical fiction book depicting slavery, it is also a modern tale entwined with elements of sci-fi/magical realism at its finest!!  

We follow Dana, a 26 year old black woman from the 70s, who suddenly keeps getting pulled back in time to save Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner during the antebellum south! Where slavery and racism was rife and at its harshest, it’s difficult to imagine just how Dana could navigate and survive such a dangerous place. 

This had me hooked from the very beginning. It was mysterious, incredibly gripping and kept you guessing as to what would happen next throughout with regards to timelines and particular relationships of the characters. Through Dana’s own eyes and footsteps we as readers were pulled along with her, and shown firsthand just how atrocious black people and slaves were treated during this time. It was shocking and brutal and I’m sure just the tip of the iceberg to what actually happened. 

This not only highlighted the white privilege of its time, but also of todays day and age and that racism is something most definitely taught. It broke my heart to see how an innocent child was influenced so negatively at such a young age into believing that other human beings held such little value in society compared to their own, purely for the fact that their skin colour was different. It also explored the example of how the tiniest bit of empathy taught in place of the bigotry, could change an impressionable mind and so many lives for the better if only given the chance, but also just how quickly things could turn if that compassion and understanding was absent and inconsistent. 

This was a complex story covering many dark and hard topics not only including the above and many more, but one of which also stood out to me which was emotional and domestic abuse. It encapsulates how the feelings and hope of change could keep a person stuck in a toxic environment or relationship much to their detriment, but also how easily it is for someone to become trapped in that pattern and life with no other choice or options. It’s tragic.

I’ve since found that there is a tv series which has been based on this book so I’m definitely eager to watch that now. 

This book is definitely worth a read not only for your own education, but also for the children of our future. I know I will be teaching my own son to treat all people with empathy, kindness and respect and hope that in time, the world will become a much better and safer place for all if only everyone else did the same. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

rach260's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

It took me a little while to  accept the time travel and the ease with which the protagonist believes this as truth. The time travel allows something to be conveyed that other historical novels about this era are unable to, and that is that ‘I never realised how easily people could be trained to accept slavery’. Even with Dana and Kevin’s ‘modern’ 1970’s  attitudes to race, the only way they can survive is to fit in to the roles of the time. The novel emphasises the courage of those who stand up against the status quo and names some of those people including Harriet Tubman and Denmark Vesey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery

Moderate: Torture and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault

elange's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual harassment

autumnism's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, and Classism

summerrains's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective fast-paced

5.0

this book was so good. 

i’m usually not a fan of historical fiction but the added element of time travel made it really engaging and created so much action. this book really brings the idea of experiencing history to life and Butler flawlessly portrays the horrors of the antebellum south. She writes such loveable and such hateable characters and each chapter ends with something that pulls you into the next. I’m excited to read more of her work! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death of parent

kelisabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

seedawson's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This book is almost entirely dialogue. An interesting concept (historical fiction + time travel) but I found the writing to be lackluster. We read it for book club.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, and Torture

shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Child death, and Abandonment