Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

21 reviews

chronicacademia's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Colonisation

lizziaha's review against another edition

4.0

In my journey to read all of Toni Morrison’s books in publication order, this has been my favorite to read so far. Oddly, it’s the one that I’ve enjoyed the language itself the least, but the plot felt tighter-knit. I think this book had a lot to say about who you’re in community with and how that affects your actions, and it was compelling to see Milkman finding his people after a life of relative isolation. And the way that isolation was woven into the story from the very beginning goes a long way to show how we can bring it upon ourselves. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Racism, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder

sillyduckie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

morenowagain's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

lay_kone's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Slavery, Suicide, and Abortion

kari_g's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-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

4.5

5 stars implies that I recommend it, and I really don’t. If you aren’t gonna tough it out, then it isn’t worth your time, but if you make it to the end, it’s truly life changing. I am better for having read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Terminal illness, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Infidelity, Excrement, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-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

5.0

“Everything bad that ever happened to him happened because he couldn’t read.” 
One of the most impactful  books I have ever read. Morrison always reminds me just how much power words can hold.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism

momogajo's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

4.25

Once you get past the first few chapters it picks up. I didn't think that the book was for me until I sat with it for a while. It has some central themes of family, friendship, and racism that the further splinters out into many other themes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Drug abuse and Alcohol

purplehulk713's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.25

Stirring. Toni Morrison certainly knew how to construct wholly unique worlds with realistic racial values and constructs but also her own fictional, ”local” almost, patterns of living that give true character to her novels like Song of Solomon. I felt bad having to rush through it for school, especially since it was a book that we would not discuss for very long, though there a semester’s worth of material to unpack. Though there are definitely hateable characters like Macon Dead II, Milkman’s father, he is characterized so well over the course of the book that you come to empathize with him if not like him for all that he has experienced in his life. Names are incredibly relevant—Milkman, for example, whose name is not his given name, but as he is colloquially known, most likely because since he was born in whatever shape or form, anyone could see that he only sought life for what it could give him, sucking it dry as if it were a milk cow. This is why he forsakes Hagar, whose name literally means “forsaken”, and this is truly so relevant to her character because

she becomes so dependent on his approval of and desire for her that her ultimate realization that she will never have it kills her.

Even the book’s name is so relevant—an allusion to a biblical book of Jewish erotic love poetry, describing a depth of passion for another person without which neither one of them could live. Milkman never truly has this in his life, not with his family, with any of his girlfriends, or with his difficult-to-describe relationship with Guitar. It’s the sense of flight which he seeks the whole novel. The final mysteries including the origins of the Dead family, Shalimar, and the children’s song was so tantalizing both to read and to analyze. My favorite character was Pilate—I found her character most compelling for what I felt was her sincerity despite her position of sentencing (another emphasis on the relevance of names). I only did not give this book five stars because it does not totally click with me, you know? Maybe if I were to read it again. But anyway, will surrender to the air and take flight?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

lqne's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest and Pedophilia

Moderate: Death, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Rape, Slavery, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Classism