Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Beloved by Toni Morrison

143 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

quixie's review

challenging emotional reflective 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: Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, Suicide, Trafficking, Child death, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Slavery, and Violence

isobelthefrog's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

thundrflap's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Murder, Grief, Child death, and Colonisation

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

mackenzielee's review

challenging mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Violence

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

laraamaee's review

dark mysterious reflective sad tense

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

4.25

It’s a crime that this is my first proper Toni Morrison read. I’ve been wanting to read Beloved for years, having heard so much about it, but put it off because of the dark/heavy subject matter.

I finally got round to it by doing a buddy read, and after about 50 pages, I couldn’t put it down.

Morrison is a master of storytelling, of deftly weaving the webs of the past & present together to create an unchronological unfolding of horror. Beloved is haunting, violent, mysterious. The trauma of slavery bleeds through the entire book, which makes it very hard to swallow (especially as it’s based on the true story of Margaret Garner). But since America was basically founded on slavery…Morrison’s work is an essential read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Child death

amberwinsor's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

Def deserves more stars but some of it was over my head 🫣

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Hate crime, Slavery, Violence, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Child death

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