Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Beloved by Toni Morrison

37 reviews

flara's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

3.0

Beloved tackles many difficult themes, given its historical context (black community post-American Civil War). This was rather mysterious and confusing read. I found the pace quite slow, which wasn't helped by the 'mystical' mood and language used throughout. I struggled to distinguish what line belonged to which character; if what was said was an actual line or if it was a description, and so on. 

I didn't go into this blindly. I knew the basic premise of the book and therefore had high expectations. I did not expect it to be about a ghost that haunts its dysfunctional family and later materialises in flesh (and then dissolves into thin air altogether at the very end).

Certain passages are quite graphic and potentially triggering for some. I suppose that the supernatural elements offset some of the cruelty, but it just wasn't the right fit for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Child death, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death of parent, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Murder, War, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship

brianareads's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Rape, Gore, Grief, and Violence

notthatcosta's review

challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

I had read about Margaret Garner last year and it has stuck with me ever since. I was deeply moved by the ingenuity and vision it took to take that story and build a wider world around it that encompasses the horrors of slavery with themes of motherhood, family, shame, religion and community in a way that is tender and gut wrenching but also cathartic.

This book is difficult to rate because so much of my enjoyment of it stems from the lore around it and the inspiration, much of which comes from the forward of this edition. The book itself is of course excellent, but at times difficult to follow.

Although the more abstract passages and the tragedy of Beloved, Sethe and Denver as characters made it difficult to get through, this is a book that will remain with me for some time, I feel.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Slavery, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

mle11's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Violence, Child death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Animal cruelty and War

Minor: Alcohol

alexandra_skl's review

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Truly a heartbreaking read. I feel like this should be mandatory reading in all schools. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Gore, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, and Torture

michaelion's review

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

4.5

My eyes flew across the page. For once I have nothing to say.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Slavery, Torture, Child death, Death, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, War, Abandonment, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Bullying and Confinement

patiencebn's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a very heavy read; the story stays with you. Please take breaks as needed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Slavery, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Death, Gore, Grief, Racism, Sexual violence, and Trafficking

balfies's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Child death, Death, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Hate crime, Grief, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Child abuse, Blood, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Gore, Genocide, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Abandonment

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Torture, Bullying, Pregnancy, Grief, Racial slurs, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Colonisation, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, War, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Violence

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Torture, War, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence