Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

61 reviews

jodean's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Slavery, Infidelity, Violence, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Blood, Racism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Suicide, Self harm, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Classism, Death, Suicide attempt, and Trafficking

Moderate: Medical trauma, Drug use, Ableism, Sexual violence, Vomit, Rape, Police brutality, Grief, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Murder

Minor: Infertility, Incest, and Miscarriage

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, Gore, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Misogyny, Medical content, Sexual harassment, and Murder

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Suicide, Child abuse, Self harm, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Gun violence, Cancer, Car accident, Colonisation, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Abandonment, Confinement, Genocide, and Incest

Mention of r slur, dismemberment.

economydreams's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Physical abuse, Torture, Slavery, Sexism, Kidnapping, Violence, Suicide, Hate crime, Death, Blood, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Misogyny

Moderate: Vomit, Medical content, and Grief

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

Going into this, I knew to expect time travel between present-day (at publication - late 1970s) and the antebellum South, but I did not expect that Kindred would ultimately be more character study than time travel/sci fi - and now I understand why it is such a memorable and timeless read for the genre. For a book under 300 pages that leans heavily on dialogue, this drives a nuanced, complicated, and deeply disturbing portrayal of the relationship between a Black woman living in the 1970s and her white (slave-holding) ancestor living in the early 19th century. The world-building is secondary here - we don't ever understand how this is happening, only why, as Dana is repeatedly pulled back in time to save Rufus's life and ensure the continuation of her family line. The abruptness of the story's start is mirrored again in its conclusion, and we are left reeling from the slow-building horror of a white boy who grows into a white man at a time when he is afforded every privilege of power and security. 

Butler consistently sows doubt in the reader: Is Dana's husband, Kevin, good enough to her, will he protect her, will he prioritize himself? Is Dana growing attached to Rufus, does she feel sorry for him, does she forgive him for his cruelty because she sees how he was raised? Do we become acclimated as Dana and Kevin do, do the horrors become loss horrible through exposure, do we become numb to it? What are we willing to sacrifice to save ourselves, a person we love, or a family member? Butler resists answering any of these questions, instead giving characters room to orbit around each other as they make their own decisions and shape their own histories. 

This is a challenging and graphic read, but a fast-paced one that evidences Butler's place in the sci-fi/fantasy canon. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Violence, Misogyny, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Suicide, Sexual violence, Self harm, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Ableism, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Fatphobia

Slurs for disabled people are used (this was written and published in the 1970s and today's readers should be aware that these instances will go unchallenged on page). Fatphobia also goes unchallenged on page in the present-day (1970s) storyline.

hamstringy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

Octavia E. Butler has always been someone I said I should read, and boy is there a reason. This was a thoughtful and harrowing book all the way through. The characters have so much story to them, and the sci-fi/spec fic becomes more and more powerful as time passes.
I read Rick Riordan’s goodreads review and I think it sums the greatness of the book up: 

We may be lulled into the feeling that we have advanced, that we have made progress as a society. But at any moment, we may be yanked back into the past and reminded of where we came from. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Slavery, Physical abuse, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual assault, and Medical content

Minor: Vomit

kirkspockreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Medical content, Slavery, Torture, Child abuse, Blood, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, and Death

mommah's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Slavery, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

kelseyr713's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Fantastic, haunting, thought-provoking. I appreciate the starkness of Octavia Butler's writing style. I interpret the time travel as a metaphor for generational trauma - no matter how far removed someone might be from their past, it's in their very essence and requires work to overcome. There is a lot to contemplate here.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Death of parent, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, Blood, Racism, Child abuse, Medical content, Gore, Self harm, Racial slurs, and Slavery

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcohol

maeverose's review against another edition

4.5

I really do not have the words to properly review this. This book was just so good. I stayed up till 5am to finish it and should really be sleeping 😅

I love time travel stories and I think using that trope to discuss slavery in this way is so genius. It felt so real. The characters felt believable, particularly Rufus who was a very nuanced antagonist. Someone you could totally picture actually existing in that time. This was different than I expected in that I assumed Dana would have to be more covert and keep it a secret that she was from the future, but I think it was much more interesting this way. Alice’s story was so heartbreaking. I didn’t think it would go that way.

I think if you can handle the heavy content, you should read this. Especially if you’re a white American.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Racial slurs, Slavery, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Blood, Ableism, Child abuse, Medical content, Murder, Vomit, Gun violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Police brutality

Drowning, Brief but graphic description of a violent birth in which both the mother and child are murdered. The ableism actually comes from Dana and Kevin, who use the r slur and act as if being mentally disabled is such a horrible thing. Dana also refers to being deaf as a ‘defect’.

moonlitemuseum's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

5.0

Phenomenal. Brutal. Precise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Blood, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Deportation, Hate crime, Rape, Toxic relationship, Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Self harm, Child death, Grief, Toxic friendship, Violence, Body horror, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse