Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

37 reviews

abernathy_33's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Drug use, Dementia, and Car accident

mice_are_nice's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Incest, Transphobia, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Drug use, Car accident, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

provokamin's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No

3.75

I generally liked the book, it was beautifully written and it was really interesting to see every generation of the family change. Though it did bother me that there is quite a lot of racist language and sexualisation of (especially young) women which isn't further addressed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Racism and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual harassment

sonda_says's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: War

Moderate: Incest, Misogyny, and Racism

emulator's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Transphobia, Violence, and Dementia

Moderate: Death, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Transphobia, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Body shaming, Drug use, Car accident, and Alcohol

itsmelaurenc's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, War, Classism, and Deportation

giuliamrll's review against another edition

informative inspiring 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

4.75

I don’t think I will ever forget this book, and Cal Stephanides will forever be in my heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest

Minor: Infertility, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Kidnapping

teaselkie'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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Dysphoria, and War

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

flo_sg's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual content, and War

Moderate: Racism, Transphobia, and Police brutality

Minor: Gun violence, Hate crime, and Sexual violence

_maia3_'s review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

2.0

If you're looking for a graceful, reflective handling of intersex people and issues, never touch this book. Intersex people have said what I'm about to say better and in more detail if you're interested, but in short, this book seems deadset on painting intersexuality as some kind of monstrous deformation, and it is not lighthanded in this treatment either (for example, the main character's intersexuality is a direct consequence of incest). Furthermore, for a book all about living inbetween categories, it absolutely refuses to look at gender as anything other than binary. I didn't find out until after reading that Eugenides refused to research anything about intersex people for "authenticity" (!?). Its a real pity, because the first half of the novel speaks very poignantly about the experience of immigration and growing up an immigrant, and the prose (whilst sometimes a little overworked and cringey) works in its favour most of the time.
If it's possible for you to only read the first half of the book and then return it to your local library once the main character gets born, that would be ideal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Genocide, Incest, Racism, Transphobia, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and War