Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

249 reviews

_natalie_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Racial slurs, Slavery, Ableism, Racism, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Infidelity, Alcoholism, Rape, Suicide, Grief, Self harm, and Blood

sannesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

This is an amazing read, but this is definitely not a light read! It basically contains all the trigger warnings you can think of, so be aware of that starting this book.

Amazing writing, and a difficult, dark, thought-provoking story to read. This story is about a black woman with modern values and norms time travelling to a time of slavery in the South of America. Even though this has the sci-fi/fantasy element of time tracelling, I wouldn't consider this much as a sci-fi book. This book leans more towards historical/literary fiction. A book exploring history, humanity, society, intereacial realationships, power dynamics, racsim, sexism and trauma.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Torture, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Abandonment, Racism, Rape, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Blood, Slavery, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Murder

proceduralbob's review against another edition

challenging emotional

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Rape, and Self harm

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Suicide

froon's review

5.0

wow. wow. wow. this book is so gripping that i would go to sleep thinking about what would happen next. 

the biggest thing i want to commend is how butler plays with pity. rufus is objectively despicable⏤wishy-washy, violent, hard-headed, evil, etc, etc⏤but, regardless, it’s hard to question dana’s friendship with him. it’s complex, but it never gets to the point where dana feels foolish or frustrating. 

also, the approach to the sf elements in this book? amazing!! the second you question something dana is there, already having worked out how something will/will not work. it’s a testament to butler’s world building. she doesn’t make her character’s a crutch by dumbing them down. and this, in turn, opens the world to more emotion and character relationships. it taught me a lot about how to effectively open a novel.

also, apologies to dr. kelly who said white people always like this book the best even though butler has better books. i thought this book was great.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Rape and Suicide

Minor: Self harm

kemrick19's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Suicide attempt, Grief, Self harm, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, and Vomit

things100's review

dark emotional informative medium-paced

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

4.0

I read this book for book club and on my was it intense I never would’ve thought to pick this book myself but I’m really glad I read it. That being said it’s really intense made me cry and scream multiple times but it was a good insight into 1800s and slavery. But again as I just said it’s really intense please read the tws

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Alcohol, Classism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Slavery, Body horror, and Racism

Moderate: Violence, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Self harm

Minor: Rape, Child death, Death of parent, and Miscarriage

kjcrary's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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: Violence, Suicide, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Vomit

cf831's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Blood, Death, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Miscarriage and Vomit

lebelinconnu's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Self harm, Racism, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Racial slurs, Death, Slavery, and Suicide

jkreads's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4.5⭐️

Kindred is a sci-fi/historical fiction/speculative fiction mashup and those genres blended together aren’t something I would normally choose, but I’m glad I picked this book up! It’s a classic for a reason. The time jumps between 1976 and the early 1800s were well-executed, they felt jarring and I as the reader felt a sense of dread and panic for Dana each time she was pulled back to the “antebellum South”.

This book deals with some heavy themes given the setting - racism, slavery and rape just to name a few. Kindred unpacks some big issues but what struck me was the idea of what it means to be a ‘good person’ and how this has evolved over the years. Actions that were considered kind or good in the flashback portions of this book are now (rightfully) understood as cruel and heinous by most. 

Kindred is such a well-crafted book that even though it was set in the mid-70s and this was mentioned frequently throughout the story, I kept forgetting that Dana wasn’t living in 2024. Nothing about the writing or the references felt dated, which is no mean feat for a book written almost 40 years ago! This book encompasses so many different genres, I honestly think just about anyone could read and enjoy it (and by enjoy I mean scream into your pillow every two seconds).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Trafficking, Hate crime, Slavery, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Self harm

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Abandonment, and Blood