Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

96 reviews

vivelarevolution's review against another edition

dark informative 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? No

5.0

This book is incredibly dark and heavy; I wouldn't advise reading it without first checking out the trigger warnings. That aside, Butler is an incredible writer with a transportive voice and engaging writing style. Everything that happens in this book feels almost real; she manages to make a history that is often taught in a remote and distant way feel visceral and present. Much of the message of the book seems to be a direct response to people who talk about enslaved people with apathy, pity, or derision. Butler examines the ways in which white people at the time talked themselves out of seeing Black peoples' humanity, and the complex and fucked up relationships that existed between Black and white people as a result.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Blood, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Suicide, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Murder, Medical trauma, Rape, Slavery, Pregnancy, Racism, and Suicide attempt

badbadwolf's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Bullying, Grief, Murder, Medical content, Rape, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Torture, Child death, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Trafficking, Vomit, Blood, Physical abuse, Colonisation, and Sexual violence

geometryprime's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Trafficking, Racial slurs, Rape, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death, Confinement, Torture, Slavery, Colonisation, Abandonment, Suicide, Self harm, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Racism, Misogyny, and Hate crime

kiwichill's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Bullying, Death, Murder, Rape, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Vomit, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Torture, Violence, Sexual violence, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexism, Excrement, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Cursing

msimba's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Violence, Rape, Death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Toxic relationship

bando_bauldio's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Wow. What a story. Octavia Butler did it again. This was such a gut wrenching narrative that constantly had you on edge. Seeing the way Dana and Rufus’ relationship developed brought on so many complex emotions, especially Rufus’s character development. It also just makes you think about the way people are desensitized to severe systemic injustices, which I find very relevant to our current political climate. This is definitely a difficult and emotionally draining read, but 1000% worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, and Blood

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

One qualm I have with Octavia’s books is her affinity for younger women dating older men. I mean, Kevin and Dana didn’t have a huge age gap, but it’s something I’ve noticed.

jkreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

4.5⭐️

Kindred is a sci-fi/historical fiction/speculative fiction mashup and those genres blended together aren’t something I would normally choose, but I’m glad I picked this book up! It’s a classic for a reason. The time jumps between 1976 and the early 1800s were well-executed, they felt jarring and I as the reader felt a sense of dread and panic for Dana each time she was pulled back to the “antebellum South”.

This book deals with some heavy themes given the setting - racism, slavery and rape just to name a few. Kindred unpacks some big issues but what struck me was the idea of what it means to be a ‘good person’ and how this has evolved over the years. Actions that were considered kind or good in the flashback portions of this book are now (rightfully) understood as cruel and heinous by most. 

Kindred is such a well-crafted book that even though it was set in the mid-70s and this was mentioned frequently throughout the story, I kept forgetting that Dana wasn’t living in 2024. Nothing about the writing or the references felt dated, which is no mean feat for a book written almost 40 years ago! This book encompasses so many different genres, I honestly think just about anyone could read and enjoy it (and by enjoy I mean scream into your pillow every two seconds).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Trafficking, Hate crime, Slavery, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Self harm

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Abandonment, and Blood

charliebites's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Hate crime, Death, Murder, Body horror, Death of parent, Police brutality, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Slavery, Physical abuse, Self harm, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Violence, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Torture

Moderate: Chronic illness, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Classism, Child death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Child abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism

ahoyitsjoy's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Absolutely harrowing read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Slavery, Sexual assault, Blood, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Bullying and Infidelity

Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, and Animal cruelty

scmiller's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Ableism, Body horror, Gore, Child abuse, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Drug use, Medical content, Pregnancy, Vomit, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Blood, and Drug abuse