Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

30 reviews

rlore96's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Medical trauma

lmsokol18's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A dark but important book with an alternative history of the Underground Railroad. The book loses momentum at points, but I was rooting for Cora throughout. I would have loved more time spent on the railroad itself as well. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Racism, and Slavery

travisppe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Kidnapping, Rape, War, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Racial slurs, and Self harm

kingsamong's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Torture, Suicide, Rape, and Murder

impla77's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.25

I really liked the prose, character and thought the start of the book was very strong. HOWEVER, the almost episodic nature of the chapters with quite clumsy transitions didn’t tie the book satisfactorily together for me. A chilling and visceral series of vignettes, but doesn’t all come together as a story

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Slavery, Gore, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, and Torture

charlotteih's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

heart wrenching, tragic, sad, disgusting, humorous, beautiful. an epic portrait of the black american experience, and the complex, nuanced machine driven by white oppression. whitehead’s characters are vivid and consuming, his reflections and storytelling just the same. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Child death, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Trafficking, Torture, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Violence, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Abortion, Murder, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Body horror, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

helen's review against another edition

4.0

The book is divided into sections that show different aspects of slavery and anti-Black racism in the US. It’s set around the 1850s but the author messes around with reality and time (the underground railroad assumes a physical form, and he draws on the eugenics movements of the early 20th century) as we follow the protagonist, Cora, on her journey to freedom.

The first section on the Georgia plantation is brutal. The matter-of-fact way that Cora describes the horrific experiences makes it even more harrowing and I probably wouldn’t have carried on beyond that chapter if I wasn’t reading it for a bookclub. I’m really glad I did though because Cora is a really engaging protagonist - daring, despairing, hopeful, traumatised, defiant and funny - and it’s given me a greater understanding of the human cost and legacy of slavery.

Four stars rather than five because I questioned the author’s choice to devote word count to the slave catcher, Ridgeway, at the expense of other characters, like Caesar, the man Cora escapes with.

Content notes:

racism, slavery, violence, torture, rape, murder, lynching, forced sterilisation, medical experimentation, eugenics, suicide, child death

 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Murder, Slavery, Racism, Violence, Racial slurs, Torture, and Rape

Moderate: Suicide, Child death, and Medical trauma

your_true_shelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Slavery, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Suicide, Deportation, Racism, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Child death

itsbumley's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Sexism, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Torture, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Trafficking

mads_reads_books's review

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Genocide, Slavery, Violence, Stalking, and Racism

Moderate: Incest, Colonisation, Infertility, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Grief, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Murder, Death, Suicide, and Trafficking