Reviews

Novela muy muy dura que cuenta como los abusos a menores tanto psicológicos como físicos, generan un trauma en su desarrollo como persona y en la sus seres queridos y en cómo destroza sus relaciones futuras. A través de la historia de la protagonista, se conocerá a otros personajes con diferentes y duras historias que la ayudan de alguna manera.

mikelchartier's review against another edition

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4.0

Reading Morrison is always a pleasure. Prosaic and thoughtful in ways that I wouldn't even think to imagine until I read her passages, e.g. "He left me like a skunk leaves a scent" <---who the shit thinks to write like that??

Which is why I was a little disappointed at the lack of thematic depth - parallels between the mothering behaviors of Sweetness and Queen; Rain and Bride's relationship; Booker's passion for music; Brooklyn's...Brooklyn - I wanted to be lost in this story for a longer period of time than I was.

All of which is to say that this would be five stars on a standard level, three and a half at Morrison level.

misssharpe's review against another edition

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4.0

This is the first book I read by Toni Morrison. I really like the books I’ve read by Gayl Jones and she is constantly compared to Toni. I was not disappointed! I love how this book examines how we bring childhood trauma into our relationships even if we run from it or tell ourselves that is does not affect us anymore in adulthood. Seen a lot of myself in Bride and how she processes. The last monologue of Sweetness was the perfect way to end this book.

My favorite quotes from this book:

“Besides, a promise is a promise, especially if it’s to oneself “
Pg 12

“Memory is the worst thing about healing”
Pg 29

“She felt she had been scorned and rejected by everybody all her life. Booker was the one person she was able to confront ——which was the same as confronting herself, standing up for herself. Wasn’t she worth something? Anything?”
Pg 98

“You don’t have to love me but you damn well have to respect me”
Pg 154

“What caused the split?”
“Lies. Silence. Just not saying what was true or why.”
“About?”
“About us as kids, things that happened, why we did things, thought things, took actions that were really about what went on when we were just children.”
Pg 155

“They will blow it, she thought. Each will cling to a sad little story of hurt and sorrow ——some long-ago trouble and pain life dumped on their pure and innocent selves. And each one will rewrite that story forever, knowing the plot, guessing the theme, inventing it’s meaning and dismissing its origin.”
Pg 158

4⭐️

gleefulreader's review against another edition

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3.0

This lands somewhere around a 2 1/2 stars for me, but rounded up for the beauty of some of the language. I'm not entirely sure what to say about this book except that both the tone, and the pacing of this book, felt incredibly uneven. There were times it was very hard to place the the time and space in which this book was set - bouncing between phrases and cadences of speech that would set in the early- to mid-twentieth century, but then suddenly jarring you with a very current reference. The strongest part of the book - the description of Bride and her mother Sweetness, and the relationship between them (Sweetness despises her daughter for her exceedingly dark skin) was the part I found most fascinating, but in the end it received shrift due to the many other happenings of the book (abuse! beatings! car accidents! fires!). It felt like there was far too much, and yet not nearly enough, in this book all at the same time.

kaybee23's review against another edition

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4.0

I just love Toni Morrison's writing. It's absolutely beautiful (minus the graphic trauma bits)

avalin1's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-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

3.75

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