Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

167 reviews

skele_queen's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

5.0

Short yet Morrison never misses. The prose is just the right balance of metaphor and directness and the content is hard to stomach but important.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racism, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Incest, and Rape

Moderate: Alcoholism and Classism

rsagarin's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death of parent, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Classism, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Violence

emerentina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Bullying, Sexual assault, Incest, Racism, Rape, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Violence, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Racial slurs, Addiction, Grief, and Mental illness

thekristinashow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

My first Toni Morrison book, but it’s definitely not my last. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Incest, Pedophilia, Addiction, Miscarriage, Racism, Bullying, Physical abuse, Rape, Animal death, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

hapikohw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.0

It was an honor to experience my first Toni Morrison novel through a public (virtual) reading done by all Black women authors, feminists and radicals.

Pecola Breedlove, there are many of you. Many failed. May we fail many others no more.

Toni Morrison, may you rest in peace and power. You completed everything you hoped to in your foreword.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body shaming, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Blood, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Classism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cursing, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Ableism

schwartzdns's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Body shaming, Incest, Alcoholism, Racism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Pedophilia, and Rape

thomasina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Animal death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.75

 

Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe. There is no gift for the beloved. The lover alone possesses his gift of love. The loved one is shorn, neutralized, frozen in the glare of the lover’s inward eye.

I think the quote above speaks for itself. There is no wonder that Toni Morrison is so beloved amongst both book readers and those who do not tend to read quite as often. This book is so moving, striking and shocking. Being Morrison's debut novel, I get the sense that she has not yet come into herself as a writer, but the writing is gorgeous nonetheless and accomplishes exactly what the author sets off to achieve from the start (according to the author's note). For the time in which it is written, this book and its narrative are exceptionally innovative, the language is exciting and memorable, and the characters are multidimensional and complex.

Overall, I am disappointed that I did not read this sooner. Morrison is an absolute treasure! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Racism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Addiction, Mental illness, Classism, Religious bigotry, Drug use, Child abuse, Bullying, Misogyny, Incest, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, and Hate crime

lilly_dav_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Classism, Bullying, Racism, Child abuse, Abandonment, Violence, Animal cruelty, Rape, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Incest, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Death

reflectiverambling_nalana's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-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

Absolutely hard hitting look at the complex ways trauma changes self perception and in some turns not only self worth but behavior, how those things pass on, and how different people respond to this cascade. Utterly wrenching. Listened to in the author's own voice with followup commentary of inspirations and intent added another layer. Understandable why this has lasted and remains as prevalent today. Even being far out of the black experience myself, the experience of being changed and influenced by cultural and periodical ideals and standards is universally relatable on a broader level, as is fact that history will echo down through the generations. that our actions reverberate and effect others. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Death, Ableism, Sexual assault, Incest, and Rape

Moderate: Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, and Racism

Minor: Violence, Vomit, and Animal cruelty