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camheartsbooksss'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Cursing, Hate crime, Incest, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Alcoholism
bimbo_andthe_bookworm'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Rape, Hate crime, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, Pedophilia, Incest, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
tannisahermansyah'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Excrement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Incest, Miscarriage, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
rlgreen91's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The Bluest Eye certainly satisfies all of these criteria. It's hard to pick one thing to focus on, but I'll go with a question I saw in my online book club discussion. Someone asked how the freedom of one character, Cholly, compared to the freedom of elderly Black women as described in an earlier passage. In my opinion, Cholly's freedom is freedom from other people, from community and the benefits and responsibilities that come from living in community with other people. He still has to conform to social norms, i.e. behave himself, if he doesn't want to suffer too many bad consequences. But Cholly doesn't have any bonds to others that bind him and impact how he lives his life. For the elderly Black women, freedom is more about freedom from societal expectations. They still live in community with other people, and have benefits and responsibilities that come with that and that shapes how they live their lives. But they no longer feel as pressured to conform to social norms, especially since they're less likely to suffer bad consequences as a result.
This is where Morrison makes you think - what does it mean to be part of a community and to be in community with others? How is this distinct from living among people and in a community? One of the key themes of the TV show "The Good Place" was T.M. Scanlon's question of "What do we owe to each other?" It's easy to jump from there to the question of "What happens when we decide we don't owe each other anything?" But Morrison's depiction of Cholly makes you think - what happens when we feel like we do owe some people something, but there is no one left for you to owe?
It's a sad book, but short, which is why I sailed through it, even if my heart was breaking the whole while. I'm not sure what I'll pick up next but it'll be something given that reading is my latest activity of choice to disconnect from work. 5 stars.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Incest
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Racial slurs
Minor: Miscarriage and Misogyny
angless's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Incest
Moderate: Abandonment and Bullying
rsngphoenix's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Addiction, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Violence, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, and Incest
mari_pita's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Animal death, Excrement, Physical abuse, Rape, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Incest, Racial slurs, and Adult/minor relationship
booksthoughtsandtea'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Racism, Medical trauma, Medical content, Infidelity, Infertility, Incest, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Child abuse, Bullying, Blood, Abandonment, Ableism, Vomit, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Mental illness, and Gaslighting
pabi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying and Animal death
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Minor: Death
silvergiraffe17's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Death, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Incest