Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
I couldn’t understand the enthusiasm for this book
Truly everything a girl could ask for. written like poetry? gut-wrenching? spooky? This is dark fiction that all those weird guys could never achieve. Eat your heart out, Aldous Huxley
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beloved by Toni Morrison is definitely my favorite book by her. I already love thriller/psychological horror books, and this one really fed that interest. I am also relatively spiritual in the sense that I do not believe everything is coincidental. For example, my grandmother gave birth to a stillborn baby girl, and in return, her two sons gave her four granddaughters. I don't believe things like that are coincidental, which is why I really enjoyed this book.
Sethe is an enslaved woman who gives birth to two boys and two girls. While pregnant with her second daughter, she runs away from her enslavers at Sweet Home and takes refuge in a free state. When she sees slave catchers approaching to reclaim her and her children, she makes the heartbreaking decision to kill her daughter rather than allow her to be taken back into slavery. She buries her daughter, and on the headstone, she inscribes the word "Beloved." Years later, she lives freely in her home, 124, with her youngest daughter, Denver. One day, however, a young woman appears, sleeping under the tree in front of their home, and she goes by the name "Beloved." All I will say is this is when shit really starts to go down, definitely give this book a read!
Sethe is an enslaved woman who gives birth to two boys and two girls. While pregnant with her second daughter, she runs away from her enslavers at Sweet Home and takes refuge in a free state. When she sees slave catchers approaching to reclaim her and her children, she makes the heartbreaking decision to kill her daughter rather than allow her to be taken back into slavery. She buries her daughter, and on the headstone, she inscribes the word "Beloved." Years later, she lives freely in her home, 124, with her youngest daughter, Denver. One day, however, a young woman appears, sleeping under the tree in front of their home, and she goes by the name "Beloved." All I will say is this is when shit really starts to go down, definitely give this book a read!
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So important and so heartbreaking. I’m so proud of all these characters ❤️
challenging
dark
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Slavery, Violence
challenging
dark
sad
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Torture
Ok, let me start this off with a disclaimer of never ever read this book when you are emotionally unstable or PMSing. I was mad for four days straight because of the mood this book put me in. There is a lot of anger and aggression throughout the whole book that can really wear on someone's mood.
I'm going to probably have some spoilers ahead so beware.
I do not understand this book. I don't understand it's grammar nor do I understand the plot. Simply because there really is no plot. The flashbacks happen but with no warning and it's hard to know what the current timeline ever is.
I'm sure that English Lit peeps would eat this book up, but it is not for me.
I think it is extremely creepy that a ghost of a BABY is just straight up terrorizing a house. Wasn't really expecting that. And then she becomes a real person?!
I really had to push myself to finish this book. The characters are not very likeable and their stories are hard to understand. The use of random metaphors and broken speech makes it very difficult to read and comprehend.
I know the whole point of the book is the story of Beloved, the baby ghost who came back to life, but I think that her haunting the house and coming back didn't really enrich the story. No character really grew from that experience. It basically just made everyone crazy and stopped them all from having normal lives.
There was also way too much time spent with useless side characters that had a role in the story for like three pages and then were just filling them with boring stories with no purpose.
I'm giving it a three rating instead of a one simply because it has some good historical merit. I don't read many books set in the civil war era and it was interesting to get some perspective. I think the characters back stories and how their lives continued after slavery in a logical timeline would have been a much more interesting read.
I'm going to probably have some spoilers ahead so beware.
I do not understand this book. I don't understand it's grammar nor do I understand the plot. Simply because there really is no plot. The flashbacks happen but with no warning and it's hard to know what the current timeline ever is.
I'm sure that English Lit peeps would eat this book up, but it is not for me.
I think it is extremely creepy that a ghost of a BABY is just straight up terrorizing a house. Wasn't really expecting that. And then she becomes a real person?!
I really had to push myself to finish this book. The characters are not very likeable and their stories are hard to understand. The use of random metaphors and broken speech makes it very difficult to read and comprehend.
I know the whole point of the book is the story of Beloved, the baby ghost who came back to life, but I think that her haunting the house and coming back didn't really enrich the story. No character really grew from that experience. It basically just made everyone crazy and stopped them all from having normal lives.
There was also way too much time spent with useless side characters that had a role in the story for like three pages and then were just filling them with boring stories with no purpose.
I'm giving it a three rating instead of a one simply because it has some good historical merit. I don't read many books set in the civil war era and it was interesting to get some perspective. I think the characters back stories and how their lives continued after slavery in a logical timeline would have been a much more interesting read.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wish I could read Beloved again for the first time. I’m so sad that it’s over but I can’t wait to go back to annotate!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Sexual violence, Slavery, Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Grief, Pregnancy
Minor: Blood, Gaslighting