Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Bluest Eye

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Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

1031 reviews

emllap's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Toni Morrison is by far one of the best authors I’ve ever read. This book forces the reader to reflect on the larger systems we live in, and how it impacts every fiber of existence, in a way like none other. This book is devastating and poetic. I would definitely recommend reading the version with the afterword by the author, which gives more insight into her process of writing this book.

Content Warnings

tottjone's review against another edition

2.5

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book is my first read for Toni Morrison. I feel that I gave it a medium rating because I don’t feel that I was able to understand the writing style at first. Her style has a poetic read to it and many hidden messages. I found myself re-reading, and re-reading again to understand. The story develops over four seasons and jumps through timelines and characters. I feel that I would have to re-read this book at a later date to truly appreciate her writing style. The actual story is very sad and I feel can be relatable to anyone who has felt deep insecurity and wanting to feel “pretty/likeable” to others. There are sensitive topics talked about in this book in regard to race, child-molest/rape, and physical abuse.

Content Warnings

leoh985's review against another edition

4.0

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

subrunar's review against another edition

4.5

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-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

Poor sweet Pecola. Much of the words written and perspectives taken are so hard to stomach. Her eyes must truly be the bluest in the world as she wished.

Content Warnings

mimslibrary's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

this was very difficult to read in regards to the content. i went into it essentially blind except for the summary on the back so i wasn’t prepared for how dark this novel got. that being said, i thought this book was beautifully written and poetic while exploring some very difficult topics. this was the kind of book where you’re a little confused until everything comes together. in this case, we learn about various different characters and their backgrounds, almost a character study, until everything we learn converges at the end at a pivotal event for the main character. because the narrative kept jumping around from character to character and places in time, it was hard to fully understand exactly where in the story we were. i enjoyed the experience of reading such a highly regarded work and starting my journey through morrison’s works. the bluest eye will definitely sit with me for a long time.

Content Warnings

amandacook417's review against another edition

2.0

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

lexi_k's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Toni herself and it’s possible that her narration is what put me off about this book. She had no emotion or conviction whatsoever when reading dialogue, didn’t change her voice in any capacity for characters. Her tone was monotone to the point where it was hard to discern climactic points vs generic parts of the story. The story was also so short that it didn’t really enthrall me emotionally, and I never got invested in the characters. Maybe that was intentional, but for a book that is so critically acclaimed, I thought it was just okay. It was well written and the themes were very dark and powerful, but it almost seems like it would make a better movie than a book because even just listening to it I didn’t feel as much emotional impact as a movie would have made me feel. It was also interesting to read about the black experience and prejudice from a black perspective, in that even within the black community there is judgement and negativity. I didn’t hate this book, I just didn’t find myself enjoying the story and that is big for me.

Content Warnings