Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Paradise by Toni Morrison

6 reviews

michaelion's review against another edition

mysterious 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

4.0

I keep finding myself speechless after reading Toni Morrison, so instead of saying "Girl, you did it again," I'll try to leave a proper review this time.

It's beautiful. You can feel where she wanted to go with this book, and the fact that where she wanted to go ended up changing as she wrote, and in Miss Morrison fashion the end is just as marvellous as her other work. I won't put spoilers but there are so many elements in this book that blend together so well, so wonderful, so black and beautiful...

The alternate name for the book War would not have been so fitting as the title of Paradise. The idea of paradise inherently comes with complication and the town of Ruby embodies that. The plights of the characters, even the climax and the ending. So black and beautiful. Miss Morrison girl, you did it again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Classism, Abortion, Misogyny, and Infidelity

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Pedophilia, and Racism

Minor: Incest

arnoles's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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 is my favorite Toni Morrison novel. It is simply a masterpiece by one of our greatest authors. The prose is gorgeous, the characters are complex and compelling, and the themes of the novel - home, exclusion/inclusion, belonging, generational hope and trauma- resonate timelessly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child death, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Self harm, and Cancer

Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage

meggs1005's review against another edition

challenging 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual violence

racheldelaney's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

The way I absolutely ripped through this in four days is astonishing.

Placeholder until I can articulate a better review other than “sometimes it’s the roots that turn a bad crop and not the weather”. Wow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Sexism

Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Infertility, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and War

shinysarah28's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Self harm

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Abortion, and Slavery

tenten's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

this is probably one of the most challenging books by Morrison i have ever read — it was dense, with a large cast of characters and a nonlinear storyline, but those are the two things i absolutely eat UP in stories. Morrison's take on an all-black town whose founders suffered exclusion from black and white people alike was such an intriguing aspect of it. 
i loved it! it was confusing at times and not a light read by any means but i'm already looking forward to reading it again.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Racism, and Child death

Minor: Alcoholism and Rape