Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Beloved by Toni Morrison

337 reviews

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

ameliaow3ns's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-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: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Violence

Minor: Rape and Blood

sakisreads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.5

It felt like a crime not reading Toni Morrison’s acclaimed novel so I gave it a go!

It was very complicated and I definitely got lost a few times, but it still was jaw clenching and gripping! 😳 The way in which Morrison goes between Sethe and Denver’s perspectives really got me!

I am going to try The Bluest Eye next and I’m looking forward to it. 3.5 out of 5 stars for me, thank you ✨
Content warnings below!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

omrtnrh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Child death, Racism, Slavery, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, and Pregnancy

Minor: War