Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Paradise by Toni Morrison

7 reviews

willowbiblio's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

"A backward noplace ruled by men whose power to control was out of control and who had the nerve to say who could live and who could not and where; who had seen in lively, free, unarmed females the mutiny of mares and so got rid of them."
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About 5 pages into this I was reminded of why Toni Morrison is one of my favorite authors of all time. Her use of themes is so clearly intentional and wonderfully worked throughout. The way disparate narratives and lives are weaved together seamlessly into a cohesive main plot was stunning. The reverberations of all actions and relationships was well executed. 

I loved how women chose to stay at the Convent after experiencing nourishment- written as eating- but really was the first time they had actually been taken care of free to be. It was almost an inevitability that they would stay.

As I read, I was continually reminded of Ibn Khaldun's philosophy of asabiyyah- the theory of the rise and fall of civilizations in 3 generations. How each generation viewed the other generations in Ruby echoed this theory almost to a T, and the society ultimately began its decline- shown through the crumbling of both relationships and the Oven, just as in the theory.

Connie's hatred of the women in the house was completely unexpected, as was her tie to the Morgans. The women dancing in the rain was a kind of baptism and cleansing, and I found it beautiful. I really loved the shifting timeline and Toni's approach to low/no context writing. Toni handled extremely sensitive topics like domestic violence and rape so respectfully.

I thought it was interesting how each woman's story began as "she", and as they got closer to arrival to the Convent their names and selves became more fully formed for the reader, almost like it was causative. Overall just an incredible book that gave so much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Rape

Minor: Misogyny

poisonenvy's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

4.0

Toni Morrison's writing is just so beautiful, sometimes too beautiful for the horrible things she was using it to describe. It's poetic and it's flowing, and while it's sometimes deliberately opaque, it is so only in a way that further enhances the experience of reading it. 

This book, the last in Morrison's loose Beloved trilogy, takes place in the late 60s and early 70s, shortly after the civil rights movement ended. It takes place in the black town of Ruby, where the town elders look only to the past despite the fact that the younger town members keep trying to move toward the future, and the convent, just outside of town, where race doesn't seem to exist (and, in fact, the race of the characters who live there are kept deliberately vague).

This book tackles racism, colourism, and sexism in a stark way, with the poetic language highlighting, rather than diminishing, the horror that all three of those come with. It's not told linearly, and deals with a huge cast of characters, and so it takes some paying attention to really follow it (made even more difficult by the fact that I listened to most of it on audiobook. Morrison reads in way that really highlights how poetic her writing really is, and does not change her voice for dialogue or to differentiate different characters speaking, which also made it a little difficult for me, and I found myself needing to listen to some passages multiple times to fully absorb it, but it did make sure that I was paying A Lot of attention while listening), and it's absolutely worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Gun violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, Sexual violence, Murder, Mental illness, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual assault, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Racial slurs

Minor: Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, and Eating disorder

mysimas's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-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

5.0

This one kinda flew over my head. It’s packed with paralels and symbolism, and the ending can be interpreted many possible ways (or maybe just one way, but I’m too dense to nail it down).

Beautiful prose, intriguing characterisation of very flawed people, the amazing all-woman convent (or coven?) made it a worthwile read regardless, and reread might grant more clarity. Powerful, brilliant book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Car accident, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Confinement, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Murder, Self harm, Terminal illness, Infertility, and Racism

Moderate: Child death, Incest, Physical abuse, and Rape

Minor: War and Slavery

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

tyyne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.0

This read so much like poetry, what a beautiful work of art. But it made it difficult to follow at times and slow to read. I would love to read it again some day to get a better grasp of it, but I’m not sure if I could handle going through all the heartache again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Abandonment, Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, and Child death

malloryfitz's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Self harm