Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

9 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

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

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-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

5.0

“Everything bad that ever happened to him happened because he couldn’t read.” 
One of the most impactful  books I have ever read. Morrison always reminds me just how much power words can hold.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Abandonment, Death of parent, Incest, Racial slurs, Death, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Child death, Murder, Classism, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse

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

shoshin's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

Toni Morrison writes about deeply wounded people. This is her first book that I've read that I've liked. I'm not sure why. I think she doesn't always give herself time to fully develop her characters in the shorter books, and I've only read her shorter books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Murder

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Child death

Minor: Abandonment

cass_nobody's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Sexual content, Incest, Murder, Violence, Rape, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Cursing, and Death

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

samchase112's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.

Toni Morrison is a freaking genius. This book has so many details, is it ever possible to get tired of figuring it all out? If you want a review of this book, I suggest checking out the 1000-million scholarly articles written about each minuscule word and space and character. Dive deep, so you can fly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Animal death, Sexism, and Incest

Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, Sexual content, Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, and Racial slurs

Minor: Racism

kelleykamanda's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

This book is truly breathtaking. With every read I enjoy it as if it was the first time. The symbolism, metaphors, characters, and overall themes are simply perfect. Just a beautifully written representation of oral history, the pain Black women face, the loss of self, etc etc. perfect 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Murder, Slavery, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Racism, Violence, Death, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Stalking, Alcohol, Classism, and Cursing

Minor: Suicide, Abortion, Infidelity, and Torture

This book talks about the many aspects of pain and loss experienced during the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras