Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

45 reviews

rsngphoenix's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Addiction, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Violence, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, and Incest

mari_pita's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Animal death, Excrement, Physical abuse, Rape, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Incest, Racial slurs, and Adult/minor relationship

booksthoughtsandtea's review against another edition

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

5.0

I feel that it would be inappropriate for me to rate this below 5 stars. Content/trigger warning for racism, depression, anxiety, trauma, rape, murder, neglect, abanding children, incest, sexual assault, pedofillia, religious trauma, 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Racism, Medical trauma, Medical content, Infidelity, Infertility, Incest, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Child abuse, Bullying, Blood, Abandonment, Ableism, Vomit, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Mental illness, and Gaslighting

ahaines18's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

this is an absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking read. highly recommend but please read the trigger warnings before hand!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Racial slurs, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Racism, Rape, and Sexual harassment

seawarrior's review against another edition

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An arresting, gut-wrenching story of the pervasive power of internalizing hatred. Morrison's skill for writing fleshed-out characters whose experiences reflect and denounce racism, classism and misogyny is awe-inspiring throughout her first novel. Her prose was lyrical, observant and stinging with relevance, which kept me glued to the pages. However, the detail used to describe sexual violence against preteen girls was so disturbing it felt unnecessary. Her inclusion of these segments started to disillusion me as they went on and worsened, but Claudia's voice in the last chapter was reinvigorating if not tragic. Claudia and Frieda are the most endearing characters throughout this story, and I doubt I will ever forget them. Their allied but secret rebellions against racism and misogyny are bathed in childlike innocence but still powerful, as we never see them internalize the hatred of their aggressors the way most of the book's other characters do. Ultimately, this is a disturbing but meaningful story, though the subject matter will make it a rough read for many.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Classism, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Body shaming, Bullying, Grief, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcoholism

kry_yang's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

Not the type of book I would "recommend" to people--in the same way that this book is not "enjoyable" to read. But the stories and ideas in this novel, especially around the intersections of race, class, and gender, are so so important to read and understand. What a haunting and humbling world we live in, to be able to experience Morrison's language in The Bluest Eye.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Incest, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Racism, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Grief

purple_converse's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Violence

strange's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, and Incest

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Violence, Miscarriage, Mental illness, and Grief

Please, please make sure you are prepared to handle this book before reading it.

marthadude's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Mental illness and Abandonment

Minor: Excrement, Fatphobia, and Grief

Heavy warnings for incest, rape, pedophilia, and racism. Even though the book spoils this in the beginning

Pecola, an 11 year old girl, is raped and impregnated by her own father. The scene is fairly disturbing. It's not overly graphic but it is explicit and hard to read. Pecola is not only beaten by her mother because of this, but the townspeople look down on her despite being the victim. As a trauma response, she is driven to a sort of madness. The baby also doesn't make it.

. There is also a character who is a self confessed pedophile, but there are no explicit scenes between him and children.

neda6's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Grief, Death, Bullying, and Abandonment