Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

266 reviews

the_bookishmum's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Suicide attempt, Hate crime, Slavery, Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

This book is not without its flaws but it is also a harrowing look into what slavery would have been like through the eyes of a more modern black woman after she has been transported back in time. It’s never really explained why she goes back in time, there is an ancestral link to the people there but beyond that it isn’t clear. Throughout her experiences, Dana is changed. There were moments in this book that were absolutely heartbreaking and the truth that Dana uncovered about her family heritage is one that both she as the character and myself as the reader were unprepared for. She had assumed that the past paralleled her life where she was from but the truth was far worse. This is not a lighthearted read but it is an important one.

alicelalicon's review against another edition

challenging tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Torture, Hate crime, Alcohol, Classism, Sexism, Blood, Sexual violence, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Racism

isobel_laura's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Racial slurs, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Child abuse, and Sexual violence

river23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Death, and Rape

thecatspajamas7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Death, Emotional abuse, Child death, Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Violence

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.5

Going into this, I knew to expect time travel between present-day (at publication - late 1970s) and the antebellum South, but I did not expect that Kindred would ultimately be more character study than time travel/sci fi - and now I understand why it is such a memorable and timeless read for the genre. For a book under 300 pages that leans heavily on dialogue, this drives a nuanced, complicated, and deeply disturbing portrayal of the relationship between a Black woman living in the 1970s and her white (slave-holding) ancestor living in the early 19th century. The world-building is secondary here - we don't ever understand how this is happening, only why, as Dana is repeatedly pulled back in time to save Rufus's life and ensure the continuation of her family line. The abruptness of the story's start is mirrored again in its conclusion, and we are left reeling from the slow-building horror of a white boy who grows into a white man at a time when he is afforded every privilege of power and security. 

Butler consistently sows doubt in the reader: Is Dana's husband, Kevin, good enough to her, will he protect her, will he prioritize himself? Is Dana growing attached to Rufus, does she feel sorry for him, does she forgive him for his cruelty because she sees how he was raised? Do we become acclimated as Dana and Kevin do, do the horrors become loss horrible through exposure, do we become numb to it? What are we willing to sacrifice to save ourselves, a person we love, or a family member? Butler resists answering any of these questions, instead giving characters room to orbit around each other as they make their own decisions and shape their own histories. 

This is a challenging and graphic read, but a fast-paced one that evidences Butler's place in the sci-fi/fantasy canon. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Violence, Misogyny, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Suicide, Sexual violence, Self harm, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Ableism, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Fatphobia

Slurs for disabled people are used (this was written and published in the 1970s and today's readers should be aware that these instances will go unchallenged on page). Fatphobia also goes unchallenged on page in the present-day (1970s) storyline.

emilybacher's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Suicide attempt, Racism, Racial slurs, Body horror, Slavery, Suicide, and Rape

katecassi's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

This book is so, so uncomfortably immersive, and that’s what makes it so phenomenal. Harrowing, traumatic, horrific doesn’t even begin to describe the experiences the reader is absorbed into alongside Dana. It takes a truly skilled hand to take the slave narrative and craft it into…what should I call this, horror fantasy? Well, whatever it is, Octavia Butler truly deserves a place as one of the greats. 

(Mind the content warnings, because this book does not hold back with the reality of chattel slavery, but it’s important to be able to sit with your discomfort with heavy topics like this.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

larskat's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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: Slavery, Violence, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Blood, Child death, Miscarriage, Rape, and Suicide attempt

lay_kone's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Racial slurs, Violence, Infidelity, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Confinement, Rape, and Torture

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, and Death of parent