Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Kindred

CW: violence, death (animal & human), self-harm, suicide, slavery, racism, ableism (casual & use of the r-slur), blood, sexual assault

this was an absolute ride of a book. amazing, upsetting, and just all around fascinating. the characters were well fleshed out, and you feel just about every emotion under the sun for all of them in some capacity. it mostly doesn't even read like a book written in the 70s outside of a couple uses of the r-slur as a reminder. there's a reason Octavia E Butler was an absolute icon of an author and I can't wait to read her other work.

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gummifrog's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

This book was an excellent read - and for myself, as a white person, it was very challenging. In many places, it was difficult to stomach the violence and emotional pain and abuse slaves were subject to at the hands of their white subjugators.

Butler makes an effort to explore so many ideas in this - the intimacy of the relationship between these two groups, because there can be intimacy in hatred and distance. No amount of intimacy can close the gap, though, between the person who keeps you ground under your foot. Interracial relationships and the comparison and contrast between how they would have existed between both time periods was also a large theme.

I was most captured by the resilience, cunning, and analytical strength of the main character, Dana. She feels the guilt of having been born in a period where black people are no longer slaves in the US. Although she is no less consenting to the horrors she is subject to, she is entrapped in many ways and ultimately chooses to free herself physically - but always with the ramifications of what she went through mentally, leaving behind a piece of herself always in the past. There is a lot of emotional content and philosophy behind the action Dana takes at the end of the book, and I definitely need some time to sit with it and absorb it.

This is a powerful historical fiction / scifi novel, the precursor to Outlander, but so much more culturally relevant and an absolute must-read. While reading it, I was surprised about how many people hadn't even heard of it. This is absolutely a classic that cannot be missed.

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bisexualwentworth's review against another edition

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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

Holy fuck. This book was incredible. I have thoughts that I might articulate at some point, but that’s not happening right now.

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tiggerrd's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

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theimposter's review against another edition

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adventurous informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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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hilwithonel's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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bootsmom3's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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jenmcreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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 is one of those books that is so good you lose any access to words trying to describe it. The word that comes up most for me is visceral. The experience of reading this book was so visceral for me. I think this does an incredible job of showing both individual responsibility in the midst of horrifying injustices (in this case, slavery, so among the very worst imaginable), however also emphasizing the way individuals can get swept up in such a large system. The narration was clear that individuals (such as Rufus) were not solely responsible for the overwhelming brutality and injustice of the system, but it also did not exonerate the characters for the acts they were responsible for. Something about this book more than anything I have ever read really drove home the relentless and lifelong brutality of life for those who were enslaved in the antebellum South, and while horrifying, this was a truly remarkable read. I feel so dumb trying to write about this book, just read it.

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