Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Beloved by Toni Morrison

140 reviews

ms_sarah621's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

2.5

I know that this is an unfair rating, I’m sorry. Here are my thoughts. Previously, I have read The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and loved it. It was so poetic, had some hard topics covered throughout, and fascinated me the whole time. Since Beloved is talked about and referenced constantly, I wanted to give it a go. I went in expecting similarities to The Bluest Eye, and it just didn’t hit me the same way. Beloved is still extremely well written, poetic, handled some truly awful issues, and made an impact. However, I felt that it was too much and not enough. There were some great moments of character building, building the setting and the world these people lived in, and Beloved creeped me out in the middle of the book. Yet, the time jumps, the jumps to other characters, and the point of some of the information or long descriptions was lost on me. This feels like a it’s not you, it’s me situation. I think a reread or a discussion with others could help me more. Overall, a lyrical piece of history that just didn’t mesh with me at this time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Pregnancy, Violence, Slavery, Child death, Grief, and Racial slurs

Minor: Torture, Sexual content, and Death

phou's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

4.75

!!!!!!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Racism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Murder, Grief, Gore, and Child death

Minor: Toxic relationship

thundrflap's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Murder, Grief, Child death, and Colonisation

eggfartz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Torture, Violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, War, Alcohol, and Body horror

lorenag5's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, Abandonment, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Rape, Trafficking, Child abuse, Sexism, Violence, and War

kittenpoker8's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Misogyny, Child abuse, Grief, Racial slurs, and Rape

laraamaee's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense

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

4.25

It’s a crime that this is my first proper Toni Morrison read. I’ve been wanting to read Beloved for years, having heard so much about it, but put it off because of the dark/heavy subject matter.

I finally got round to it by doing a buddy read, and after about 50 pages, I couldn’t put it down.

Morrison is a master of storytelling, of deftly weaving the webs of the past & present together to create an unchronological unfolding of horror. Beloved is haunting, violent, mysterious. The trauma of slavery bleeds through the entire book, which makes it very hard to swallow (especially as it’s based on the true story of Margaret Garner). But since America was basically founded on slavery…Morrison’s work is an essential read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Child death

angelkisses's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Sexual assault, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Rape

bearsiies's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Child death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Body horror, Death, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Incest

mattyb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Confinement, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault