Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

42 reviews

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Trafficking, Medical content, Torture, Slavery, Incest, Sexual violence, Violence, Confinement, Rape, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Gun violence, Police brutality, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Ableism, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Car accident, Dementia, and Drug abuse

sandralaurentino's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring tense fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Slavery, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Blood, Hate crime, Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Rape, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Death

rachelol's review against another edition

5.0

Read for English class.
I fully think every American should read this book.

It was phenomenal. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Rape, Toxic friendship, Violence, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Vomit

bookswithbethx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Racism, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Torture, Grief, Death, Child death, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail

steveatwaywords's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

For a work so early in Butler's career, this is a remarkably stunning read. No need, really, to touch upon the now oft-described plot: Butler's aim is the experience--both graphically physical but more psychological: it works its way through our time-traveling narrator and her white husband; it impacts their relationship (alas, not as thoroughly explored as it might have been); but it is one of the first books I've read to explore the nuance of living in a culture of slavery rather than merely stating or claiming the complex challenges.

Butler's liberated (at least for the 1970s) narrator discovers how sinuous the workings of plantation life might well have been, how insidious the rationalizations of submission to authority. And while the book is tightly-written and highly suspenseful, her handling of dialogue and subtler action reveals the various pulls of power humans have over one another, because of and in spite of the power dynamics between them. 

There are no apologies, justifications, or qualifications for slavery and its adherents here. But we instead experience a kind of subjugation and oppression which moves far deeper than the given physicality of this institution. (Now to go see how Hulu has handled it . . . )

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Slavery, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Rape, Trafficking, Grief, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Vomit, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Death, and Blood

This work directly shows several scenes of nearly every kind of inhumanity from the institution of slavery, though the descriptions fall short of body horror or gore.

linneak's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Death, Torture, Violence, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Trafficking, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Blood, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Murder

srah's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

It's a fascinating premise so I've meant to read this for years and somehow didn't get around to it.  The book keeps you hoping and worrying and thinking.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Racism, Sexual violence, Torture, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Child death, and Suicide

kimasenbeck's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.25

I think I was expecting a bit more, something unpredictable, a satisfying twist. But the story was pretty consistent throughout, and the only real surprise was

that Alice had killed herself.

That said, I think this book did a better job than any other that I’ve read making American slave history feel real, relatable, and immediate. It’s a fascinating setup for a book, and I’m glad to have read it. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, Gun violence, Suicide, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Child death, Hate crime, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Addiction

peachani's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Body horror, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Xenophobia, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Dysphoria, Alcohol, Classism, Gun violence, Infidelity, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

sarahrosea's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Murder, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Death, Violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Self harm, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Ableism, Death of parent, Gore, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest