Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Beloved by Toni Morrison

94 reviews

hunkydory's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Torture, Hate crime, Grief, Slavery, Death, Child death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Rape, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Medical trauma

Moderate: War

coco_5'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

this book is an amazing piece of literature. a classic. a tragic story

that does end in a hopeful light

stunning writing, reads like poetry.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Torture, Sexual violence, Blood, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Toxic friendship

Minor: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and War

elizajstocks's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery

Moderate: Rape, Torture, Racism, Murder, Grief, and Child death

Minor: Abandonment

so_many_ocs's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• 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 death, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Adult/minor relationship

orlagal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, and Murder

theremightbecupcakes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious 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

Download every one of her books she narrated. Even when the subject matter is dangerous and painful, like Beloved, her voice made me feel that warm, safe, storytelling feeling of having my mother or my elementary school librarian read to me as a child—that magic, storytelling feeling.

This is an unsafe ghost story. It will take you places you might not be ready to go, emotionally and historically. This is a reread, and I still feel worn out upon finishing it. But it is also a Great American Novel, and o say that without hyperbole. I was lucky enough to study it at Yale—my first read. Now I simply come to it the second time as a reader. I am enraptured and heart-rendered.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Slavery, Colonisation, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Child death, Death, Grief, and Violence

readingpicnic's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad slow-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

andprevatte's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

this is the best and most important book I have ever read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Pregnancy, Hate crime, Grief, Excrement, and Child death

merle98's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

hodgeonlucy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was heartwrenching, disturbing, and quite scary in certain parts due to Morrison's ability to create tension. I would not recommend it to anyone who may be struggling with loss or who can be easily triggered by scenes of violence, although I'd be surprised if someone with even the highest desensitivity didn't react to some parts of this novel. I would encourage anyone who feels they can to read this book; it was an important, nuanced, and deep exploration of slavery and survival. Morrison's characters were as deep as they were interesting, full of nuance and moral ambiguity. The novel's focus on love, pain, and loss were brutally honest and painful, in parts making you question how much love can justify harm. The exploration of these themes through family and more specifically, through motherhood was beautiful but heartbreaking; the conspicuous and forced absence of paternity added a further dynamic to this pain, highlighting the purposeful construction of slavery to rob Black people of any semblance of human connection. Dehumanisation, and trying to rehumanise afterwards, is another main focus of the book and is beautifully woven into the other themes to create a powerful yet painful narrative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racial slurs, Violence, Torture, Racism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Grief, and Child death