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doiread's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Racial slurs
angelbabe_cj's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-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
3.0
As much as I loved the writing, which was excellent, I found the narrative hard to follow. Like the music which provides its name it ebbs and flows in repeated rhythms and refrains in ways that I couldn't predict or keep up with. And some parts definitely left unfinished, possibly because I lost track of which bits connected to each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, and Racism
Moderate: Body shaming, Murder, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Slavery
lamontslament's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
3.0
Toni Morrison’s prose, as always, is immaculate. So many passages had me gasping for their beauty or cleverness.
I think what I didn’t like about this book is one of its features: the nonlinear, sketchy, call-back way the story is told feels very intentional. Jazz-like even. It just didn’t work for me. I felt I had to work too hard to figure out when/where/who was going on with the start of every new chapter.
A lovely read, I would recommend this to anyone who likes her work or wants to read an artful, complex book about the early 20th century black American experience. But of the 4 books by Morrison I’ve read, this comes in a distant 4th place for me.
I think what I didn’t like about this book is one of its features: the nonlinear, sketchy, call-back way the story is told feels very intentional. Jazz-like even. It just didn’t work for me. I felt I had to work too hard to figure out when/where/who was going on with the start of every new chapter.
A lovely read, I would recommend this to anyone who likes her work or wants to read an artful, complex book about the early 20th century black American experience. But of the 4 books by Morrison I’ve read, this comes in a distant 4th place for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Murder
michaelion's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
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
3.0
well. they can't all be hits.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Murder
Moderate: Stalking, Slavery, Violence, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Racism
Minor: Miscarriage, Abandonment, and War
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