Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

32 reviews

jenpurlteach's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad slow-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? Yes

4.0

I listened to this one as full cast audio book—I think 166 different people did voices. Amazing and entertaining, done by professional actors and even family members of the author. Such an interesting concept, a story about the in-between of life and true eternity. As an audio for me, I was often confused, but as I heard more of the story, many things became clear, so don’t quit too soon if you are inclined to. I really enjoyed the first hand accounts about the Lincoln family and the Civil War. I’m assuming those were factual— cited as they were within the story—but just listening to the words being performed (loved those parts) left me wondering at times if they were real people’s observations. One thing I didn’t enjoy was the more graphic sexual aspects. I do realize that for a couple of the characters you couldn’t understand them without the background of sexual abuse, but there were parts that seemed unnecessary (just my own opinion!). Over all, though, really interesting and strange and thoughtful tale about all kinds of people in and around Washington D.C. during the time of Willie Lincoln’s death. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child death, Sexual assault, Rape, and Death

teaxmillions's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Racism, Rape, and Slavery

anxious_brown_girl's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

It took a bit to get used to the format of the book, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. The pace was great and the mix of historical accounts versus fiction was great. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicide, and Rape

ehagedorn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Sexual content, Homophobia, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and War

mementomoriiv's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Suicide, Racism, War, and Violence

audreybethc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-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? Yes

5.0

A raunchy ghost story about American history that is also, somehow, one of the more moving things I’ve ever read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Sexual harassment

Minor: Rape

megshrews's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Grief, Child death, Death, and Rape

aniquegrace's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-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

4.25

super bizarre writing style but surprisingly compelling despite that 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Racism, and Death

Moderate: War and Sexual violence

lizziaha's review against another edition

3.5

It’s hard to rate this one because some parts of it struck me so deeply, while others fell short. Lincoln’s grief was exquisitely portrayed, and though it was devastating, I almost wish I’d seen more of it. Saunders’ take on ghosts is intriguing and manifests in an interesting way. But because of this, the huge cast of characters can make the book confusing and hard to follow at times. I also felt a little uncomfortable with the portrayal of BIPOC characters (though I understand the book is set during the civil war, there were still moments that I felt could’ve been handled differently).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Death, Slavery, Grief, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Racism, Rape, and Child death

Moderate: War, Blood, Pedophilia, Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Classism, and Murder

Minor: Homophobia, Drug use, and Excrement

kananineko's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-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

5.0

I loved this weird little book. I know it won’t work for everyone, but somehow it worked for me. I love absurd concepts like this and things that examine life and death and afterlife and the in-between and history, so of course I loved it. If you have similar interests, you may feel the same way. But you also might not, because it’s a very weird book. I love the play-like format and the parts that put together historical documents to recount a moment. I’m so glad I read this book and I’m very glad that i I own it!I loved this weird little book. I know it won’t work for everyone, but somehow it worked for me. I love absurd concepts like this and things that examine life and death and afterlife and the in-between and history, so of course I loved it. If you have similar interests, you may feel the same way. But you also might not, because it’s a very weird book. I love the play-like format and the parts that put together historical documents to recount a moment. I’m so glad I read this book and I’m very glad that I own it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Slavery, and Suicide

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and War

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Classism, Cursing, Excrement, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, and Homophobia