Reviews tagging 'War'

Beloved by Toni Morrison

31 reviews

lauren_shilling's review

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

4.0

This was a very complicated book in my opinion. I thought the writing was incredible in so many different ways, so I really enjoyed that aspect of it. As for the characters, each character was so complex, especially characters like Sethe and Denver. I'm hesitant to say too much because I feel like the synopsis is a bit vague and I don't like to get into spoiler territory in reviews. I also feel like keeping the synopsis vague is a good thing because of how complex the characters and story are. Denver was such a compelling character, since when the books starts off she is very lonely, and she can come across as a bit closed off or bitter in some ways, but also very emotional in others. I really liked Denver and seeing her strengths and her flaws and how she grew. Sethe was obviously such a compelling and complex character, as you really dive into her motivations and the meaning and background behind all of her actions. She was a perfect main character to tell this story through in my opinion. Again, I don't want to say anything about the story that isn't in the synopsis, but I will say that this book is brutally honest in its portrayal of many things, and it doesn't shy away from things that other books/authors may be hesitant to discuss. In this way, this book offers a very unique perspective on slavery and on the time period it's set in that can be hard to find in other stories. I thought it was gut wrenching and overall, a very important story. However, be aware going into it that it is so complicated and can be hard to follow at times. However, I think this is intentional and a very good way to tell this story. It's confusing and can be hard to interpret but if you think about it you can get so much out of it. The only reason I didn't give this book higher than four stars is because I felt like, even though it is intentional, some things went over my head and I needed to go back to reread some parts often in order to understand where the story was going. Despite that, though, I found this to be a very incredible book and I would highly recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Child death, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Rape

Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, and Death

Minor: War

eggfartz's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Torture, Violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, War, Alcohol, and Body horror

lorenag5's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective fast-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: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, Abandonment, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Rape, Trafficking, Child abuse, Sexism, Violence, and War

rabzia_'s review

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racial slurs, Violence, Murder, Slavery, Pregnancy, and Racism

Moderate: Rape, Child death, and War

flara's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.0

Beloved tackles many difficult themes, given its historical context (black community post-American Civil War). This was rather mysterious and confusing read. I found the pace quite slow, which wasn't helped by the 'mystical' mood and language used throughout. I struggled to distinguish what line belonged to which character; if what was said was an actual line or if it was a description, and so on. 

Spoiler

I didn't go into this blindly. I knew the basic premise of the book and therefore had high expectations. I did not expect it to be about a ghost that haunts its dysfunctional family and later materialises in flesh (and then dissolves into thin air altogether at the very end).

Certain passages are quite graphic and potentially triggering for some. I suppose that the supernatural elements offset some of the cruelty, but it just wasn't the right fit for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Child death, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death of parent, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Murder, War, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship

spossum's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Rape, Child death, Blood, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Slavery, Sexual violence, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, and Torture

Moderate: War, Adult/minor relationship, and Death of parent

tetedump's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, War, Torture, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Racism

marlene_wp's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Slavery, Racism, Torture, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: War and Sexual violence

ag_berry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Slavery, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Blood, War, and Rape

pipbiz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, Racism, Slavery, and Child death

Moderate: Sexism and War