Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Beloved by Toni Morrison

6 reviews

ssummar's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Violence, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Infidelity, Rape, Grief, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Torture, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, and Slavery

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Eating disorder, and War

kristinebraley's review

challenging 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? Yes

4.5

This book was beautifully written and narrated by the author. The story was brutal and difficult and that was part of the beauty, especially following the story arc of the character called Denver. There were many lovable characters, hate-able as well.  The magical realism was masterfully written. I will most likely have to read this with my own eyes in order to grasp a few of the more esoteric scenes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Grief, Sexual violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Slavery, Torture, Infidelity, and Racism

mx_sunshine's review

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

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

laurenleigh's review

challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

There’s no denying that Toni Morrison is a genius. The way she turns words on a page into rhythmic, lyrical, beautiful music is completely wild. I often sat back and wondered to myself how someone could come up with this text! It’s so unique and genre-bending. It was, however, pretty hard for me to follow. Probably shouldn’t have read it as my bedtime book. I tried the audio, but gave up real quick. The plot lines were way too nonlinear and subtle for me to follow by listening. I understood most of it, but it took me a long time to get through it, and I’m sure some points went over my head. I was struck by how much it felt like a play, mainly because almost all the action takes place in one setting, the 124 house. So many lines are sharply condensed with lots of emotion, adding to the dramatic feel. The other note that’s sticking with me is how Morrison frames the big exciting moments. There’s two turning points in particular, scenes with the most violence, but both happen “off stage.” The reader only hears about them after the fact, through others’ accounts. Leaving these scenes more to the imagination gives them even more power and strength. By no means is this an easy read, but it’s a classic for a reason.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity

Moderate: Murder, Child death, and Sexual assault

lysac382's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Child death, Death, Violence, Slavery, Sexual violence, Racism, Physical abuse, Murder, Grief, Death of parent, and Blood

Moderate: Rape and Infidelity