Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Paradise by Toni Morrison

4 reviews

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.

---

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

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. 

---

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

---

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.

---

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