Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

81 reviews

marnash's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Was highly anticipating this one. I loved the diverse cast of characters, getting to know each of them. It was a tough read, no doubt. I didn't love the writing style, sometimes seemed a little... amature. But the plot was gripping, ever-changing and twisting. It was a honest mix between hopeful and gut-wrenchingly sad, which is a good description of life and especially black lives in the slavery times, I guess.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Torture, Death, Murder, Slavery, Child death, and Racial slurs

tigerkind's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.0

„A plantation was a plantation; one might think one’s misfortunes distinct, but the true horror lay in their universality.“

A capitivating read, especially interesting if you’re familiar with other (neo) slave narratives. Focusing purely on the reading experience I found the book a bit predictable and the style alienating from the character’s emotions and suffering - but I think it fits the narrative. The story is not indulgent in recounting the emotional and physical horrors of slavery (though they’re there, no doubt about it) but focuses more on perseverance and persistence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Confinement, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Classism, Death, Excrement, Hate crime, Misogyny, Trafficking, Genocide, and Violence

travisppe's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Kidnapping, Rape, War, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Racial slurs, and Self harm

kingsamong's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Torture, Suicide, Rape, and Murder

charlotteih's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

heart wrenching, tragic, sad, disgusting, humorous, beautiful. an epic portrait of the black american experience, and the complex, nuanced machine driven by white oppression. whitehead’s characters are vivid and consuming, his reflections and storytelling just the same. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Child death, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Trafficking, Torture, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Violence, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Abortion, Murder, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Body horror, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

helen's review against another edition

4.0

The book is divided into sections that show different aspects of slavery and anti-Black racism in the US. It’s set around the 1850s but the author messes around with reality and time (the underground railroad assumes a physical form, and he draws on the eugenics movements of the early 20th century) as we follow the protagonist, Cora, on her journey to freedom.

The first section on the Georgia plantation is brutal. The matter-of-fact way that Cora describes the horrific experiences makes it even more harrowing and I probably wouldn’t have carried on beyond that chapter if I wasn’t reading it for a bookclub. I’m really glad I did though because Cora is a really engaging protagonist - daring, despairing, hopeful, traumatised, defiant and funny - and it’s given me a greater understanding of the human cost and legacy of slavery.

Four stars rather than five because I questioned the author’s choice to devote word count to the slave catcher, Ridgeway, at the expense of other characters, like Caesar, the man Cora escapes with.

Content notes:

racism, slavery, violence, torture, rape, murder, lynching, forced sterilisation, medical experimentation, eugenics, suicide, child death

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Murder, Slavery, Racism, Violence, Racial slurs, Torture, and Rape

Moderate: Suicide, Child death, and Medical trauma

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Whew. This one is a really rough read, but the writing is so excellent. It's extremely distressing, but it's an important read. Absolutely will read this author again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Torture, Death, Gore, Grief, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Stalking, Trafficking, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Genocide, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Excrement, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Animal death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Medical content

your_true_shelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Slavery, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Suicide, Deportation, Racism, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Child death

tushhh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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? No

3.25

I really thought I was going to love this book more than I did. I don't even want to really admit that, but its true. It was slow for the most part which is why it took me a while to pick it up and the gaps between me reading grew longer. I really liked Cora and her being the embodiment of persistence and striving for Freedom at any and every cost. Because in a situation like that you WILL fight for your life.

Of course where we're sections that were hard to read. I love historical fiction and I learned so much about the disgusting ways in which slaves were treated through these characters! The weekly community lynching and the road with hung people was crazy to me. Overall the pacing was slow but there were tense and more fast-paced moments scattered throughout. 

I'm not sure what would have made it any better tbh. I enjoyed it but I didn't love it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Murder, Slavery, Death, and Violence

dianaschmidty's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Slavery, Racial slurs, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Death, Torture, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Abandonment, Gun violence, Gore, and Confinement