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crybaby_chloe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, and Abandonment
Minor: Excrement
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Chronic illness, Suicide, and Alcohol
vedpears's review against another edition
- 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
I truly wish that the railroad aspect wasn't written so literally - unfortunately, I question if it does a disservice to the subject. I know too many people of different backgrounds who are now admitting that they think that "it wasn't as bad as -they- say it was".
I also wish the ending was a bit more concrete, but perhaps that is fine because the ramifications of slavery in the USA are still present and the disparity between black and white Americans is far too great, still - the story isn't concretely done yet in real life.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
snailslowreader's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.5
The critical weakness of the book was how I couldn’t connect to the characters. Whitehead’s literary and detached writing style worked well for his details (which seem all the more terrible the more casually they were described), but not so much for feeling what the characters felt. In addition, while the ideas and intentions behind all of the alternating perspectives are interesting, I found some of them to be too short (like the slave catcher Ridgeway’s perspective) or unnecessary (like stationmaster’s wife Ethel’s perspective, which could’ve been more captivating when shown through Cora’s point of view). The varying length and importance of the perspectives ended up making the book feel uneven, rather than creating a complex picture.
Whitehead is a talented and ambitious writer, and I look forward to reading more by him. It so happens that this book in particular, even with a great concept and solid plot, didn’t quite do it for me.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
darren_cormier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Sexual assault
freshbatchofbooks's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Slavery, and Trafficking
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Medical trauma
gailsage_thomps's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infertility
s3lin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
2.5
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
mgdsmile's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Graphic: Slavery and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
belle2008's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail