Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

12 reviews

hannaheinhorn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

this is my second time reading this book. the first time i read it i was in high school, and it completely changed my taste in literature as well as my outlook on life. revisiting it, i loved it even more. this novel speaks with all the appropriate nuance about what it means to decolonize one’s heritage and legacy. milkman is a heinous character, but through him the story of how women love is so eloquently told. i relate to lena a lot, as an oldest daughter with a middle sister and baby brother. i truly think anyone who has had to dive into their family’s history in order to heal will relate and love this novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Racial slurs, Murder, Misogyny, Grief, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Lesbophobia, Hate crime, and Racism

kari_g's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

5 stars implies that I recommend it, and I really don’t. If you aren’t gonna tough it out, then it isn’t worth your time, but if you make it to the end, it’s truly life changing. I am better for having read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Incest, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide, Death, Terminal illness, Cursing, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Gun violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Vomit, Infertility, Rape, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Slavery, Terminal illness, and Stalking

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Confinement, Alcoholism, Excrement, and Infidelity

zeldazonks's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Took me a little bit to get into it and then I devoured most of it in one sitting because Toni Morrison's writing is just so good. Incredible book. Felt a bit more accessible than Beloved and was less emotionally devastating, but still just so good. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Gun violence, Grief, Death, Addiction, Murder, Incest, Animal death, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Racial slurs

lqne's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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: Pedophilia and Incest

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Murder, Racism, and Death

Minor: Classism, Slavery, Rape, Pregnancy, and Abortion

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Incest, Murder, Police brutality, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Genocide, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Racism, and Rape

avasbookmark's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

Toni Morrison’s writing is so evocative (I love all the allusions to African American folklore- I learned a lot)! The incestuous elements of the book and the homophobic undertones struck me as unnecessary and out of place, though. I wish the female characters had more of a voice in the novel, but the glimpses we get into Pilate’s past, Lena’s rage, and Ruth’s heartbreak resonated with me. This is a modern classic!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion and Incest

Moderate: Death, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, and Rape

nadia's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

This was a brilliant book! Definitely my favourite Toni Morrison so far out of the three I've read as part of my chronological journey through her fiction.

The writing was excellent and Morrison crafts such unique characters that you're always eager to see how they interact and what they do next. I'm also not normally one for magical realism, but it worked for me in this book. I just went with it and let Toni Morrison lead the way.

There were so many different facets to this book, which you might think could lead to a novel that felt disjointed, but Morrison expertly tied it all together and nothing felt out of place!

There were some parts that I struggled to keep on top of everything — namely names, relationships between people and places — but I didn't find myself getting frustrated by that as I am wont to do in such cases!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, and Death

hannakutlu's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Racial slurs, and Racism

eve81's review

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Racial slurs

sofipitch's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-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? It's complicated

4.75

This is absolutely brilliant novel. Writing a review that isn't a college level essay on the themes of this book feel insufficient to the degree of genius it has. Some of the Christian symbolism was lost on me and I had to look it up. But over all this a beautiful book on family/generational trauma, and the power to become better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Hate crime, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Stalking, Toxic relationship, Death, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Incest, Abortion, and Gore