Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

Beloved by Toni Morrison

19 reviews

katerinatroyanovich's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Oh. My. God.  Beloved is a heartbreaking, poignant, horrific view into the shameful legacy of slavery in the United States. Written like poetry and haunting in every way, I took my time with this book. I wish I read it with a book club so we could dissect passages together so I would recommend at least reading this with a buddy. Sometimes it was so dark it was difficult to read (the iron bit, among many other things, is so upsetting - I had no idea this was a thing) but I’m so glad I did. A must read for Americans. This book deals with themes of generational trauma, collective and individual pain, living in the past, being unable to move forward, and the power of community healing and support all wrapped up in a bit of a ghost story. I will absolutely read Morrison’s other works now. She has such a unique writing style and voice! It is easy to see why this is a classic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Colonisation

viporras's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

rkorevenge's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

This was one of the most gut wrenching and beautifully written novels I have ever read. Sethe has a ghost story that will haunt you forever. Toni Morrison grabs your throat from the first page and chokes your hope right until the last line. Probably the most disturbing and important novel ever written. CHECK THE TRIGGER AND WARNINGS. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

mx_sunshine's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

This took me over a month to read. It was really difficult to get through. I was left feeling stunned and empty at a lot of points. Toni Morrison is a fantastic author. She put so much into this book. I’m so grateful that she wrote it. I won’t ever be able to forget some of the striking images she described.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

b_easelbub's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy

eggfartz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

lorenag5's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective fast-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: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

eff_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

2.5

read for class and honestly i don’t think i truly understood this book the way i needed to understand it. i expected it to be more magical realism esp around beloved’s character and where she comes from, but it was ultimately lacking in that regard & left me with so many questions. the prose and writing were undeniably good, but it can become tedious when the plot is so goddamn SLOW. also i really HATED Paul D with everything in me. i am #certified Paul D hater and failing to understand the chemistry between the two really put a bad taste of Sethe’s development at the end. at it’s core, Beloved is truly about and for Black enslaved women who are survivors. survivors of sexual abuse &  trauma from slavery. it’s about the power family can carry. it was heavy & hard to read most times, would only recommend in the right head space. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

dark_marble_eyes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Quite dark, quite sad, masterfully written.

I always say mind the tags, that is to say, be aware of what you’re getting into, but read it anyway if you can. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Colonisation

charla_t's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Rape, Blood, Dementia, and Abandonment