Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

44 reviews

silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-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

4.75

 

Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe. There is no gift for the beloved. The lover alone possesses his gift of love. The loved one is shorn, neutralized, frozen in the glare of the lover’s inward eye.

I think the quote above speaks for itself. There is no wonder that Toni Morrison is so beloved amongst both book readers and those who do not tend to read quite as often. This book is so moving, striking and shocking. Being Morrison's debut novel, I get the sense that she has not yet come into herself as a writer, but the writing is gorgeous nonetheless and accomplishes exactly what the author sets off to achieve from the start (according to the author's note). For the time in which it is written, this book and its narrative are exceptionally innovative, the language is exciting and memorable, and the characters are multidimensional and complex.

Overall, I am disappointed that I did not read this sooner. Morrison is an absolute treasure! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Racism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Addiction, Mental illness, Classism, Religious bigotry, Drug use, Child abuse, Bullying, Misogyny, Incest, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, and Hate crime

lizcheyenne's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

i hate men i hate men so much

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, and Body shaming

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Ableism and Animal cruelty

mel_j's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.75

A bit too dark for me, but wonderfully written. Very lyrical, very poetic. It's a bleak, sad book with an inportant message. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Rape

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty

zsyh's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Racism, Death, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Violence, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and Animal death

cheuksin's review against another edition

5.0

This is by no means a light read.
Some parts invoked a similar  level of discomfort as when I read Lolita
Other parts more like the colour purple

Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe. There is no gift for the beloved. The lover alone possesses his gift of love. The loved one is shorn, neutralized, frozen in the glare of the lover’s inward eye.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Incest

Moderate: Sexism and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Infidelity, and Death of parent

camillebrianna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Animal death, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Incest, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Racial slurs

ldpaige's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

I hate that I didn't completely love this like everyone else did. After looking at various blogposts and book club breakdowns, I was able to better understand what I just heard over a course of a few days. With a better understanding, I was able to appreciate this disturbing read. 

Morrison tends to lean to the macabre and the countercultural, which is normally for me. This just didn't translate the way I would have liked for it to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Mental illness, Abandonment, Rape, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Incest

lisesenb's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad

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

4.75

Challenging but important

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Body shaming, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Incest, Classism, Mental illness, Colonisation, Excrement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Death, and Pregnancy

stinkylilbaby's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Toni Morrison is an amazing writer and somehow chooses the perfect word in each sentence to explain the deepness and darkness that is within our world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Incest, and Sexual assault

emrockwell14's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Alcoholism, Violence, Pregnancy, Incest, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Miscarriage, Animal death, and Blood