Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

32 reviews

feefeeberry's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

It’s so unbelievably well written. Almost every little detail comes back in some kind of way. It’s woven and written so well. Literally the smartest book I’ve ever read. Anyone who says this is boring has the reading comprehension skills of a toddler.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Violence

If you’re sensitive to racism, this may not be the best book for you.

haileyeh's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Incest, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Rape, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Slavery, and Fire/Fire injury

nunchikoi's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

An incredible work by Ellison who manages to balance a magical reality that is also prescriptive to quantum physics; thoroughly examining Black experiences in North America, Ellison uniquely incorporates specific 'Negro-American' culturalisations like folkloric motifs in his story-telling. This results in a magnetic kind of writing which swings between being poetic and clinical, a fictional story which testifies to real historical experiences and events, and a narrator who keeps the reader at arms length but also confides in and almost prays to you.

Through this, Ellison constructs a compelling portrait that his contemporaries otherwise neglected: he demonstrates how Black characters in a novel can be complex and nuanced, with fully-realised moral, philosophical, and intellectual capacities.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest and Violence

Moderate: Racism and Classism

endlessblankpages's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Violence

sagelikesscats's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Sexism

kamilawithak's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Homophobia

lonicera_fragrantissima's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Classism

gwennypenny15's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

This audiobook was scary how relevant it is still to this day but I wish it was only 8 hours. It just really dragged down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Minor: Rape

lyd4ever's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Classism

Moderate: Mental illness and Misogyny

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

3.75

 Invisible Man follows the unnamed Black narrator from the end of high school through the first few years of his early adulthood. And they were undoubtedly tumultuous years as his dream of college was snatched away from him, his efforts to gain employment sabotaged, and his involvement in community activism marginalised and hijacked. The many ways the narrator’s race stopped people from seeing him for who truly was because they were so blinded by their preconceptions of what a Black man was, and the way he altered his way of being in accordance with those preconceptions made a big impact. His treatment by the Brotherhood and their use of issues of importance to the Black community in general, certainly has many parallels in more contemporary social movements. I found this to be a challenging read and I sometimes struggled to understand exactly what was happening and what it meant. This was especially true for the more surreal aspects in the plot. But I’m glad I stuck with it since my effort was well rewarded. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Violence