Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler

70 reviews

alreadyemily's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Vomit, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Miscarriage, and Abandonment

ritabriar's review

challenging dark hopeful tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This graphic novel adaptation goes almost as hard as the original. Though maybe that's because I knew about

the horrific whippings

before I started this read. Check on content warnings. Octavia Butler is always a brutal, worthwhile read. 

The plot repeatedly visits the life of a white boy and slave owner's son in Maryland, starting in 1819. The book overall is an account of conditions for slaves during that time, contrasting at regular intervals with modern conditions and amenities. 

Though the rules of the "magic" are clear, the forces that cause Dana to travel back and forth in time are never explained. Instead, Kindred explores the humanity of everyone in the South at that time. It examines the choices white plantation owners made during that time and the pressures on them to dehumanize the people they enslaved. It examines why slaves might have talked badly about one another. It explores how modern minds might react in such a setting. It does it all in a well-researched, historically accurate setting. 

For those with interest in reading both versions, this adaptation changes what happens with Kevin. This adaptation highlights our choices and the original points out that modern minds are still human, same as those in the antebellum South. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury

Fear of leaving the house High-risk, self-destructive behavior Amputation Medical content occurs pre-Civil-War No one is hit by

bullets

on-page Violence is white-on-Black and Black-on-white, exploring the outcomes of each There is also a slow and horrible crushing of Dana's mind, with a hopeful ending

c_seonjyung's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

cheese_11's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Rape

anna_rubin's review

dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, and Murder

apple_atcha_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

alfiekiwi's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Slavery

brooketreads's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-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

See my notes on the book version of Kindred by Octavia E. Butler.

I’m not sure I was a fan of the art style or the way the characters looked. I did like at the end where we get half of Dana’s face and half of Rufus.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Vomit, and Death of parent

Use of the n word

dustytealeaf's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

belladonnashrike's review

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

I’m not sure if this is a good adaptation or not — I wanted to read the original kindred, but this was the only copy available at my library.

the story itself is amazing, but it did feel disjointed and oddly paced at times (I’m assuming it’s the adaptation that had those issues, not the source material).

i’m going to try to find a copy of kindred soon. I really want to read butler’s original writing! she really was such a phenomenal writer and I would love to read this as it was originally intended.

also, loved the forward by nnedi okorafor! her short story spider the artist is one of my favorite short stories of all time, so seeing her name at the beginning was a pleasant surprise. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

Minor: Miscarriage