Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

El ferrocarril subterráneo by Colson Whitehead

80 reviews

katrina_daquin's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Trafficking, Rape, Colonisation, Slavery, Child death, Racism, Classism, Violence, Death, Suicide, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

vedpears's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Wow. What an incredible book. The material is extremely somber and heartwrenching and a consolidation of a great many horrors that real people were forced to endure. 
I truly wish that the railroad aspect wasn't written so literally - unfortunately, I question if it does a disservice to the subject. I know too many people of different backgrounds who are now admitting that they think that "it wasn't as bad as -they- say it was". 
I also wish the ending was a bit more concrete, but perhaps that is fine because the ramifications of slavery in the USA are still present and the disparity between black and white Americans is far too great, still - the story isn't concretely done yet in real life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Police brutality, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Blood, Sexual violence, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Violence, Body horror, Sexual assault, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Rape, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Medical content, Suicide, Child abuse, and Infidelity

lorenag5's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring reflective medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, and Physical abuse

darren_cormier's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Child death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Sexual assault

jazhandz's review against another edition

DNF at 68%, for two reasons. The first is, put simply, I didn’t care. I put the book down for two weeks and came back and didn’t want to put in the effort of relearning names. Whitehead is a really capable writer, but nothing about this grabbed me. Which brings me to the second reason: he has said before that he wanted to bring the Underground Railroad to life and literalization. And it’s totally wasted here, which I found frustrating. The literal, actual Underground Railroad of trains is not compelling, not focal enough to matter, and not vague enough to stop me from having practical concerns. I think if I finished it, it would’ve been a three-star read, but after my break from reading it, finishing it didn’t feel worthwhile.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Torture, Slavery, Death, Racial slurs, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Rape, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Excrement

vanyavampi118's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

An inspiring read of a woman fighting for her freedom. Packed with brutality and sadness. A sad story of a horrible time in history, very insightful. Would recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Rape, Physical abuse, and Abandonment

candide_woodard's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative sad slow-paced

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

4.0

A heart-wrenching novel about the atrocities of slavery and the high stakes of escape. Personally, Whitehead’s writing style wasn’t my favorite but I loved Cora’s perseverance and learning about the Underground Railroad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Murder, Rape, and Physical abuse

alyssagirardi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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: Classism, Grief, Racism, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Physical abuse, and Hate crime

Moderate: Child death, Murder, Rape, Abandonment, Blood, and Sexual violence

gailsage_thomps's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Hate crime, Abandonment, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Minor: Infertility

rainieschulte's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Child death

Minor: Rape