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bennybooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Slavery, Racial slurs, Racism, Child death, Death, and Gore
sophiegraceslibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Morrison paints her characters with care and complexity, and I found each endearing despite their flaws. Sethe’s overwhelming love for her children, Paul D’s hesitation to love anything, and Beloved’s hunger to be loved created an intricate and effective study of how disempowerment and trauma change people, their needs, and the allowances they make for themselves.
The structure of the novel, while difficult to follow at times, was a highly effective reflection of how we approach the atrocities and extreme trauma of slavery. Morrison shows that we can never tackle these topics directly, and so circles around them with her storytelling, just as Sethe does, in an attempt to patch together and heal the damage of slavery.
I have been so moved by this book and can’t recommend it enough.
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Racism, Child death, Death, Blood, Sexual assault, Slavery, Murder, and Rape
chen1194'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, Racism, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Torture and Death of parent
Minor: Trafficking and Adult/minor relationship
jenmcvay'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Torture, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Body horror, Sexual violence, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Racial slurs
Minor: War
ekmook'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Death, Child death, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, and Toxic relationship
benzibones828's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Child death, Rape, Sexual content, Colonisation, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
voxelbee's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Gore, Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Racism
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Torture, War, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Alcohol
katsbooks'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
4.0
"...we got more yesterday than anybody. We need some kind of tomorrow.”
“Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.”
“You are your best thing”
I don't even know how to formulate my thoughts on this novel but I'm going to try. If you are a faster reader, like me, my best advice when reading this book is to slow down. This book is not meant to be inhaled in 1-2 sittings. The writing is gorgeous, obviously. Morrison won a Nobel for this book for a reason. However, there is so much symbolism and allegory that takes a hot minute to unpack. I am not ashamed to admit that I had to look up the SparkNotes for this book to understand some of the underlying symbolism. I'm incredibly glad I did because when I finished the book, I honestly felt let down. I felt confused and unsure of what I had read. I often found myself questioning whether certain passages were meant to be taken seriously. What would have helped me going in was understanding that there are two timelines. The one that begins when Paul D arrives at 124 ("present time") and the timeline told through flashbacks. There are two significant climaxes, one for each timeline. After the first one, I was really confused about where the rest of the novel could possibly be going just to get when the final climax occurred. I also wished I would have looked up some of the themes so I could have made more connections as I read. As soon as I understood how one of the major themes is how slavery destroys identity, so many things clicked for me. (And to be completely transparent, the fact that that theme didn't click for me until I saw it written out explicitly says a lot about my own privilege.) I completely understand why this novel receives as many accolades as it does. It is truly impactful but I don't think it's the type of book you can go into blind unless you have a really fundamental understanding of race and the generational trauma of enslavement. As a history teacher, I thought I "got it" but I think what I appreciate about this novel is how personal it made the history. It reminded me that it's not enough to sit around and intellectualize about the impacts of the horrors of history. This novel really makes you feel the very real personal implications of it and that is absolutely awe-inducing to me.
Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Colonisation, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, War, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gore, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
coco_5's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Torture, Sexual violence, Blood, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and War
bricharis's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Gore, and Blood