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yourbookishbff's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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.hamstringy's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
I read Rick Riordan’s goodreads review and I think it sums the greatness of the book up:
We may be lulled into the feeling that we have advanced, that we have made progress as a society. But at any moment, we may be yanked back into the past and reminded of where we came from.
Graphic: Death of parent, Slavery, Physical abuse, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual assault, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit
kirkspockreads's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Medical content, Slavery, Torture, Child abuse, Blood, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, and Death
mommah's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Slavery, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
kelseyr713's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Death of parent, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, Blood, Racism, Child abuse, Medical content, Gore, Self harm, Racial slurs, and Slavery
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Alcohol
maeverose's review against another edition
4.5
I love time travel stories and I think using that trope to discuss slavery in this way is so genius. It felt so real. The characters felt believable, particularly Rufus who was a very nuanced antagonist. Someone you could totally picture actually existing in that time. This was different than I expected in that I assumed Dana would have to be more covert and keep it a secret that she was from the future, but I think it was much more interesting this way. Alice’s story was so heartbreaking. I didn’t think it would go that way.
I think if you can handle the heavy content, you should read this. Especially if you’re a white American.
Graphic: Child death, Racial slurs, Slavery, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Blood, Ableism, Child abuse, Medical content, Murder, Vomit, Gun violence, and Sexual assault
Minor: Police brutality
Drowning, Brief but graphic description of a violent birth in which both the mother and child are murdered. The ableism actually comes from Dana and Kevin, who use the r slur and act as if being mentally disabled is such a horrible thing. Dana also refers to being deaf as a ‘defect’.moonlitemuseum's review
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Blood, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Deportation, Hate crime, Rape, Toxic relationship, Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Self harm, Child death, Grief, Toxic friendship, Violence, Body horror, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse
nialiversuch's review
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Hate crime, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Classism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, Bullying, Colonisation, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Gore, Abandonment, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Physical abuse, and Vomit
Moderate: Rape, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy
michelle_my_belle's review
- 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
Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, Blood, Domestic abuse, Death, Rape, Medical trauma, Murder, Suicide attempt, Grief, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pregnancy, Racism, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexism, Torture, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Child death and Drug use
erebus53's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
This is a tale of survival. Dana finds herself dislocated from her time and place and landing in the early 1800s in the middle of emergency. At first she saves a small boy from drowning, and then later she stops a fire. As she follows the pattern she realises that she has a connection to a young man who has very bad luck and who she continually has to save from his misadventures.
First hand, she finds out how Black and White people are divided in status and role, and how those divisions are brutally enforced. She hopes that by befriending this small child she may be able to stop him from developing into the same sort of man as his brutal, plantation-owner father.
In the same vein as Time Traveler's Wife (a book published 24 years after it)... hmm, ok I'm going there. *Incredible Tangent Person! go!* Time Traveler's Wife was interpreted for screen 6 years after its publication and Kindred, a book that also deals with slipping through time involuntarily, was adapted for screen 43 years after its publication in 1979. OK, one of those books was about a man who met the woman he eventually married when she was a child and who develops a relationship with her in chronologically asynchronous order, and the other was about a Black woman coming to understand her family's history, slavery and the brutality of oppression, by rescuing her White, several times great grandfather from death.. so I guess it's more about whether or not people want to discuss Grooming, or Inter-Racial marriage and the brutality of slavery... but why did we have to wait so long before that was a thing?
Kindred is a thoroughly compelling read and I seriously raced through the book, not wanting to put it down. The relationships are rich and messy, and offer a convincing look at what happens when we care about people despite their faults. It is a story of survival, and through Dana we are allowed a glimpse of the real life, love, fear, and survival that was endured by those living and working plantations.
Graphic: Infidelity, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Medical content, Racism, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Classism, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Child death