Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Beloved by Toni Morrison

38 reviews

mle11's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Violence, Child death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Animal cruelty and War

Minor: Alcohol

clara_mai's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Torture, Violence, Sexual violence, Murder, Child death, and Racism

Moderate: Animal cruelty and War

balfies's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Child death, Death, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Hate crime, Grief, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Child abuse, Blood, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Gore, Genocide, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Abandonment

acornell's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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

3.5 stars

Well, that was not what I expected! Holy trauma, look up trigger warnings! An important book based on a true-story of a freed slave that turns paranormal. I’m glad I read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Murder, Slavery, Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Torture

kennethwade's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad

• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Torture, Child death, Racism, Animal cruelty, Slavery, Racial slurs, and Rape

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

voxelbee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Gore, Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Racism

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Torture, War, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Alcohol

kathryngardyne's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Child death, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Slavery, Grief, Blood, Murder, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: War

strabbyfieldz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

the final part of this book filled me up and then emptied me out again, Toni Morrison's style and wielding of chronology is like no others. a really powerful exploration of the trauma that inevitably follows slavery.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Child death, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Pregnancy, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Blood, Torture, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: War and Animal cruelty

jennifer_vars's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

Beloved is a complex and carefully crafted novel but also fragmented, and surreal.  Honestly though, I think that was Morrison's point? I saw another review state that sometimes reality is too painful to address in plain simple narrative. Sometimes truth has to be approached slowly to get to the heart of the matter. The character's struggles here cannot be addressed with simplistic explanations. This book will require time, patience and probably someone to discuss   and decode the messages in this book with.

The novel is a ghost story but not really. What it really delves into is psychological and generational trauma through a lyrical, historical lens. It's part horror and part magical realism. The scary part of this book is not the supernatural aspect, but the horrors humans inflict on one another. 

This was my second reading, and probably tougher this time around. I initially picked it up because of all the recent uproar in my state over this particular book. It was the focus of a challenge four years ago but conveniently reimagined for political play this last election cycle.

Surprising to me, I kind of agree that this may not be appropriate for even most high schoolers but not for the reasons used in the challenge. The argument for censorship is that it's too violent and too sexually mature. Well, those are simply bad faith arguments because this book was not assigned to 8 year olds but rather high school students in AP classes (aka college level). Anyone who is being honest knows that teenagers view much worse on their phones that are conveniently available in their pockets at all times. The real reason is Morrison has written a tragic and horrific account of the aftereffects of slavery in America and it makes people uncomfortable.

I wouldn't take it off the list, but the potential problem with assigning the novel is that it is an extremely difficult book to follow. The memories are told in fragmented text and the dialogue of the setting make this book one that requires patience.  Some books are meant to be read at the right time in our lives.  I'm an avid reader and I'm not sure I would have appreciated or been able to take in all of the nuanced meanings in high school but I don't know. I'm sure having a teacher to guide the book and discussion questions is probably best. Readers should read it when they're ready, and for me that came at my second attempt at 42.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Animal cruelty, and Racism

orlagal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, and Murder