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hapikohw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Pecola Breedlove, there are many of you. Many failed. May we fail many others no more.
Toni Morrison, may you rest in peace and power. You completed everything you hoped to in your foreword.
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body shaming, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Blood, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Classism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cursing, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Ableism
minayana's review against another edition
- 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 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.
Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual assault, Classism, Domestic abuse, Incest, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Animal death, and Pedophilia
ashbeth2011's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Rape, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Confinement, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, and Sexual violence
bearsiies's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Misogyny, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Incest, Rape, Torture, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Fatphobia, Grief, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Child death, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, and Toxic relationship
penofpossibilities's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Classism, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Incest, Racial slurs, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Rape, Colonisation, Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Violence, Sexual violence, Addiction, Bullying, Death, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Animal death, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Slavery
Minor: Gun violence and Miscarriage
iheartapolloxxi's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body shaming, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Blood, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Classism, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, and Incest
lizziaha's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Racial slurs, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Bullying, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Classism, and Sexual content
Minor: Excrement, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, and Abandonment
vanesst's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Abandonment, Excrement, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Addiction, Alcohol, and Child death
lambchop12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
The dark moments are handled with grace imo - although, if I can have one complaint keeping this from being a 5 star book it’s the fact that the poetic flow of the book doesn’t let up even during these horrific moments, making them seem a little less horrific to a more subjective eye?
In the edition I had, Morrison talks in an afterword about how she doesn’t just want people to pity Pecola, she wants them to reexamine themselves and the world around them and I think that was clear to me. Pecola Breedlove is one of the saddest characters I have ever read about, but a world in which a little girl isn’t protected from pain just because of how she looks is far sadder.
Graphic: Incest, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, and Child abuse
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Fatphobia and Child death
karihyuuga's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Racism, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Mental illness, and Miscarriage