Reviews tagging 'War'

Home by Toni Morrison

32 reviews

sierraburrell's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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 has a way of making you feel like you’re in the middle of a scene. I enjoyed her narration. This was a hard story but it left me hopeful. I’m glad they found each other again and were able to heal. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Racism, and Sexual assault

heather_leighbros's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

This book is impeccably written. I found it to be a harrowing story about the realities of generational trauma due to slavery/racism, as well a portraying the symptoms of PTSD in a seamless and impactful way to help dissolve some of the stigma around this diagnosis. While I found this book to be very much worth the read, I rated it three stars because my star system is based of how much I enjoyed a book, this one left me somber and was not a comfort read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Racism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Child death, Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Infertility, and War

rubym55's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Hate crime, Death, Classism, Child abuse, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Racism, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Blood, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Violence, Slavery, Murder, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Rape, Death of parent, Torture, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

Minor: Infertility and Animal cruelty

senevilla's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Medical trauma, Death, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Sexual assault, War, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, and Pedophilia

sweetearlgrey's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

Toni Morrison is certainly the most humanist writer I have ever read. Although her characters partake in some disgusting acts, she does not pass any judgement on them. She also weaves these two narratives together so well, with the stories connecting to the overall theme beautifully. Despite the shortness of this novella, she manages to bring up so many different societal issues and to write characters that are quite three dimensional. While I prefer her longer works, Home still has the heart that I expect from a Toni Morrison novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child death, Gun violence, Violence, and War

jaan's review

challenging dark reflective fast-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

4.5

Short, but a really powerful book. And sad. Circular narrative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Medical trauma

Moderate: Trafficking, Forced institutionalization, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism

Be warned that this book deals explicitly with eugenics, post-traumatic stress disorder (Frank is a Black veteran returning from Korea), child neglect, and violently racist institutions and behaviors in Jim Crow America. Lynchings are mentioned briefly throughout and graphically described towards the end.

aparizo704's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

Homecoming as a lived experience, rather than a familiar destination. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual assault, Violence, Medical trauma, and War

ajlct's review

dark emotional reflective fast-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

3.5

This one's squarely in the 'glad I read it, but probably will never read it again' category. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and War

Moderate: Abortion and Alcoholism

carmentxx's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

this was a surprising twist ending. for such a short book this packs a punch. the characters are quite fleshed out and the exploration into each of their lives is interesting. however, the synopsis about this being completely about a veteran is incorrect. true, a lot of the story is about his trauma and his inability to cope with it, but i mostly enjoyed the women of whom were fleshed out in this story. they were much more likeable characters and much easier to root for. maybe that’s the point of looking into a traumatised veteran, but there is certainly something which makes frank money an unforgivable character. overall, i wish this novella were longer. morrison writes beautifully but this novella is not enough to give credit to the characters in this story. 

i wish there was more exploration into frank’s confession of shooting the korean child. it just felt a bit like a shock twist with no real consequences to his final confession. if it was such a big confession it should’ve done something to him when he confessed it. it’s also just.. weird. i don’t know. what a weird thing to use as a twist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

remie's review against another edition

dark reflective relaxing 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Murder, Religious bigotry, War, Child death, Classism, Death, and Racism

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Domestic abuse