Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Beloved by Toni Morrison

332 reviews

janainthebooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

coffeemoca's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

I had a hard time starting this book because I had never read a Toni Morrison book before, and so I had to get used to the writing style. But once I got used to it, it felt like I was hungry for more and more of the story, I felt like I was entranced by the story and needed to know what would happen next. 
The characters are interesting and complex and they feel so close yet so out of reach— possibly mimicking how the characters themselves feel so close and yet so far from the people around them; lonely. I loved that Morrison keeps you on your toes, never fully revealing the events of the past until the end, carefully showing you glimpses and flashes and then keeping them hidden away, just as the characters do.
This book has made me a fan of Morrison’s writing and I definitely need to read more of hers. It’s so poetic and descriptive I can picture everything exactly as she tells it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Murder

grboph's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.75

This was really an amazing book - I've yet to read something by Toni Morrison that I didn't love. The magical-realist elements were new to me and while in all honesty I didn't fully understand all of them, I think I would get them more if I were to reread the book and they definitely added to the story and the complexity of the characters. Denver was definitely the most interesting character to me, and I think my favorite part of the book was when it switched to her point of view for a little bit. While I think I liked The Bluest Eye a little bit better, this was still a quite remarkable book that I will definitely remember for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, and War

carojust's review against another edition

challenging mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

This was intense, horrifying and beautiful. It is necessary reading on the evils of American slavery, and the uncertain period following emancipation, soaked in trauma and violence.

Toni Morrison wraps history with something unearthly, and has this amazing way of grounding you, and fighting your sense of reality on the next page. 

Stream-of-consciousness writing has always been difficult for me, so "Beloved" was challenging, sometimes a few pages in a sitting. If you have trouble with this, as well as indiscriminate POVs, I understand why it's not for you. But the magical, unique storytelling and the haunting, brave characters are well worth the read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War

readingelli's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

Minor: War

fromvictory's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

livreads16's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely devastating. I keep re-reading the last two pages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence

Minor: Vomit and War

katerinatroyanovich's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

Oh. My. God.  Beloved is a heartbreaking, poignant, horrific view into the shameful legacy of slavery in the United States. Written like poetry and haunting in every way, I took my time with this book. I wish I read it with a book club so we could dissect passages together so I would recommend at least reading this with a buddy. Sometimes it was so dark it was difficult to read (the iron bit, among many other things, is so upsetting - I had no idea this was a thing) but I’m so glad I did. A must read for Americans. This book deals with themes of generational trauma, collective and individual pain, living in the past, being unable to move forward, and the power of community healing and support all wrapped up in a bit of a ghost story. I will absolutely read Morrison’s other works now. She has such a unique writing style and voice! It is easy to see why this is a classic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Colonisation

brittystardust's review against another edition

I understand why this book was written and why it is considered so impactful. However, it was far too intense for me to read. The themes are not what I want to read for now, though they are important to discuss. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Rape, and Violence

hannah_go03's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Rape