Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

59 reviews

lilly_dav_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Bullying, Racism, Child abuse, Abandonment, Violence, Animal cruelty, Rape, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Incest, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Death

minayana's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

This is a great novel with really poignant prose. The plot is really tragic, as are all the characters. The POV switches often, with the POV of Claudia being the only recurring one. Morrison explores the ways that black children are taught self loathing and hate, and how the definition of “beauty” is often intertwined with race. There is especially a spotlight on the treatment of black women in society, one of the topics being how black men will turn to abusing black women due to feeling demasculinized by white men. The author gives all the characters backstories to show how they became the people they are in the present day. I know some people didn’t like that she humanized the bad characters, but I think it’s important to recognize that the terrible things that happen in this novel are distinctly human. 

This book is a hard read, and it did a bit too much towards the end for me personally. I don’t think there was a reason to show the rape of Pecola considering we already know from the very beginning of the book that it happens. I also really didn’t understand the point of the POV of “Soaphead” except to be gratuitously disturbing. 

This book covers so many extremely important topics and themes, and I would definitely recommend, but PLEASE check the trigger warnings before reading! 

A few other things I had issues with. The way fat characters are treated and described are pretty fatphobic, but I’m not surprised considering the time it was published. There’s also a character who doesn’t enjoy sex with her husband, and finds comfort in her cat. There’s really weird descriptions of her experiencing “pleasure” from her cat sitting on her lap and stuff like that ??? Weird and once again, gratuitous.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual assault, Classism, Domestic abuse, Incest, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Animal death, and Pedophilia

aduran037's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Abandonment, Addiction, Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Rape, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Incest, Classism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, and Sexual assault

thatguyjae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Rating "The Bluest Eye" is a complex task. While the writing is undeniably great, reading it was often difficult due to its heavy themes. The book delves into deeply sad and challenging topics, making it a tough emotional journey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Pedophilia, Rape, and Racism

joga's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Racism

Moderate: Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Minor: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Misogyny, and Pedophilia

jana_abw's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

4.5
Such a sad story written so beautifully. 
I’ve never read a book with such poetic sentences. 

This book did feel a little disjointed at times but I think on a re-read would make much more sense. 

#2 book club read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Classism, Racism, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Incest, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual content

Minor: Abandonment

jocelyn_t's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense 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

Absolutely love the premise of this book. Especially reading from the perspective of a poc woman it’s easy to spot the similarities that seem to be universal for people of colour. However, a black womans identity being represented through the characters AND the author allowed me to gain access to a new perspective. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Body shaming, Grief, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Abandonment and Religious bigotry

bugsybooks's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

I feel really complex feelings about this book. My heart aches for the children, and i was truly wrapped up in the story. TW: incest/ SA

I truly though found the SA to be a bit much, particularly how descriptive it was. It also felt pretty unnecessary for the story being told.

The book is beautifully written and incredibly emotional, my heart really did break particularly for Pecola

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Classism, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Rape, Incest, Pedophilia, Racism, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Sexism, Cursing, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

br14nn4's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Animal death, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Incest, Excrement, Domestic abuse, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Emotional abuse

sarina_klinst's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

This book broke me! 
But I beleave everybody should read IT...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Racism, Classism, Cursing, Sexual content, Rape, Misogyny, Miscarriage, and Incest