Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Tar Baby by Toni Morrison

9 reviews

culpeppper's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

Too many shifting perspectives for me, but I love stories that amp up tension that results in many dramatic confrontations. There's truly delicious tension between all the characters, and though I didn't love all the aspects of the story, I really appreciate the greater narrative at work here. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Slavery, Death of parent, and War

readingwithgoose's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

cepbreed's review against another edition

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

4.0

I'm very happy to have finally read a book by Toni Morrison and decided for myself that she deserves all the praise she gets and more. Even though I've heard she wrote novels much better than Tar Baby I loved this book. Taking a folktale and adapting it in an indirect way was such a brilliant premise. Morrison has an amazing mind for connecting details to each other and created intrigue from the get go. Her characters are all dynamic and real. I found Margaret particularly compelling. This woman was a trophy was Valerian, his Maine born red haired pageant queen. At first it seems like she won, getting to marry a rich man with a home on a tropical island, but beneath the shallows of their marriage she was deeply unhappy. A woman pushed into a box, never allowed to be a girl. I'm not trying to justify any of her actions but

the way she abused Michael as a baby was so foreign to me. Morrison describes the abuse in a way that finally made Margaret human. She needed someone to see her and Valerian never did that for her. Another moment of Margaret's that made me halt in my tracks was the discussion she has with Ondine long after the dinner party. Margaret complains about their cold relationship and blames Ondine for not stopping her abuse of Michael. She says Ondine was older and therefore responsible for her actions. Ondine responds "I wasn't thirty-five. I was twenty-three. A girl. Just like you." SHE ATE HER UPPPPP!!

  As much as Margaret has felt pained she only acknowledges herself as a victim. 

Definitely going to read more Toni Morrison on my own time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual content

Minor: Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

wellreadandhalfdead's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Stalking

Minor: Rape

waybeyondblue's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Sexual harassment

michaelion's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This is what those trendy bisexuals wish they mean when they say "he was written by a woman." Son is the only man this could ever apply to!!!

Something clicked for me as I was reading Song of Solomon, that I think really unlocked whatever was holding me back from fully understanding Ms. Morrison's books. Or maybe I just didn't like her first two, but something definitely clicked midway through the third. The same thing sparked again very early into this fourth book, and again I knew I'd love it! Ms. Morrison don't miss!!!

Spoilers for the end,

I like that they didn't end up together, but only because I'm a sucker for people returning to their roots, especially so if the roots have something to do with nature.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Rape, Transphobia, Stalking, and War

jojo_'s review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Colonisation

Minor: Animal cruelty and Blood

mmatti300's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

In the beginning of Tar Baby, I was shocked by how uninterested I was and was thinking this would be my least favorite Toni Morrison yet. And yet, I kept going because I am in love with Toni Morrison and am on a mission to read every one of her works. (I mention this to note that I am incredibly biased towards loving this story). I thought it was going to be below Jazz in my rankings of the four I've read so far. But somewhere near the halfway point, I became entranced. I began to gel with Jadine, sympathize and root for Sydney and Odine. I almost cried over Valerian? I was confused by Son and wanted to love him, while also wanting to hate him. I felt the class consciousness that Toni knows and imbues in her work so well come through the surface. Basically, this is probably my second favorite Toni Morrison, right behind Sula and shockingly above Beloved(in the moment, by tomorrow I may not be feeling that way). So, for what it's worth, I loved it, I think it's worth sticking around for. I also think that this was one in which Morrison really explored the dynamics between Black and white people in a way that Jazz, Sula, and Beloved (the other three I've read) don't (while also exploring deeper Black relationships and dynamics). This one also didn't have Morrison's iconic birthing scenes or as much body horror as her others so it's a little more of an actual literary fiction in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, and Murder

namizaela's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

"No man should live without absorbing the sins of his kind, the foul air of his innocence, even if it did wilt rows of angel trumpets and cause them to fall from their vines."

Reading Toni Morrison's writing is like indulging in a rich meal. She was a master of balancing plot, character, and symbolism. The beginning of this book was very slow and confusing, but from the middle to the end I was entranced by the tense situation she wrote for her characters, while also being in awe of the depth in her writing. In this book, Morrison portrays race and gender relations beautifully and with nuance, although she was not afraid to let her characters do low-down things. I loved this book, and if I had the time to analyze it all I would love it more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship