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haylethal's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Blood, Racism, Sexual content, and War
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
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
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
chloebethx_'s review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Racial slurs, Rape, Child death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Racism
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
marissasa'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: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Violence, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Racial slurs, and Sexual content
cati'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? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Slavery, Sexual violence, Child death, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Grief
strabbyfieldz'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
4.5
Graphic: Slavery, Child death, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Pregnancy, Racism, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Blood, Torture, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: War and Animal cruelty
clapyourshands'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: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Racism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Slavery, Violence, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Abandonment, Blood, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, and Physical abuse