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silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition
- 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
Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe. There is no gift for the beloved. The lover alone possesses his gift of love. The loved one is shorn, neutralized, frozen in the glare of the lover’s inward eye.
I think the quote above speaks for itself. There is no wonder that Toni Morrison is so beloved amongst both book readers and those who do not tend to read quite as often. This book is so moving, striking and shocking. Being Morrison's debut novel, I get the sense that she has not yet come into herself as a writer, but the writing is gorgeous nonetheless and accomplishes exactly what the author sets off to achieve from the start (according to the author's note). For the time in which it is written, this book and its narrative are exceptionally innovative, the language is exciting and memorable, and the characters are multidimensional and complex.
Overall, I am disappointed that I did not read this sooner. Morrison is an absolute treasure!
Graphic: Excrement, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Racism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Addiction, Mental illness, Classism, Religious bigotry, Drug use, Child abuse, Bullying, Misogyny, Incest, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, and Hate crime
lisesenb's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Body shaming, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Incest, Classism, Mental illness, Colonisation, Excrement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Death, and Pregnancy
penofpossibilities's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Classism, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Incest, Racial slurs, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Rape, Colonisation, Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Violence, Sexual violence, Addiction, Bullying, Death, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Animal death, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Slavery
Minor: Gun violence and Miscarriage
bnae77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Sexual assault and Child abuse
Minor: Gun violence