Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

51 reviews

hapikohw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.0

It was an honor to experience my first Toni Morrison novel through a public (virtual) reading done by all Black women authors, feminists and radicals.

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.

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Content Warnings

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

silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.75

 

Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe. There is no gift for the beloved. The lover alone possesses his gift of love. The loved one is shorn, neutralized, frozen in the glare of the lover’s inward eye.

I think the quote above speaks for itself. There is no wonder that Toni Morrison is so beloved amongst both book readers and those who do not tend to read quite as often. This book is so moving, striking and shocking. Being Morrison's debut novel, I get the sense that she has not yet come into herself as a writer, but the writing is gorgeous nonetheless and accomplishes exactly what the author sets off to achieve from the start (according to the author's note). For the time in which it is written, this book and its narrative are exceptionally innovative, the language is exciting and memorable, and the characters are multidimensional and complex.

Overall, I am disappointed that I did not read this sooner. Morrison is an absolute treasure! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Racism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Addiction, Mental illness, Classism, Religious bigotry, Drug use, Child abuse, Bullying, Misogyny, Incest, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, and Hate crime

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Incest, Excrement, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Pregnancy, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Racism, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

mel_j's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• 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

2.75

A bit too dark for me, but wonderfully written. Very lyrical, very poetic. It's a bleak, sad book with an inportant message. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Rape

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty

risemini's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Racism

wasabiapple's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Animal death, Pedophilia, Bullying, Rape, Racism, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Violence, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Child death and Miscarriage

jana_abw's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

4.5
Such a sad story written so beautifully. 
I’ve never read a book with such poetic sentences. 

This book did feel a little disjointed at times but I think on a re-read would make much more sense. 

#2 book club read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Classism, Racism, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Incest, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual content

Minor: Abandonment

camillebrianna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Animal death, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Incest, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Racial slurs

mezzoanddolce's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

this just wasnt for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Blood, Incest, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism

seullywillikers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

 Such beautiful language to express such horrific things. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Rape, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Pedophilia