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callysutherland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Racism and Violence
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Rape
amymegan27's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, War, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Colonisation, Sexism, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Death, Hate crime, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Slavery, Alcoholism, Blood, Grief, Racism, and Rape
kmhst25's review against another edition
3.75
Strengths:
- Making you care about truly reprehensible people. The male and females leads are both exceedingly unlikeable, and it can be hard to make an unlikeable character compelling. Mitchell does it with ease.
- The South's perspective of the Civil War. There's a lot of emotional context for what the war was like for people in the South. The writing makes you sympathize for the characters, even though you can't sympathize for their cause.
- Sheer readability. It's so dramatic that you can read it for hours at a stretch.
Weaknesses:
- The length. The book spans 12 years and is over 900 pages long. No book needs to be that long, and this one is no exception. There are sections that drag, specifically in the years before and after the war.
- The South's perspective of Reconstruction. The racism in this section is truly off the charts and the history is one-sided at best, downright lies at worst. This is a disappointment, because the history of the Civil War section holds up.
- No neat wrap-up. Mitchell has said that the book's theme is survival, which I would agree with, but I wouldn't say that there's a definitive takeaway or clean ending. It simply ends.
Graphic: War, Sexism, Slavery, and Racism
Minor: Rape
Rape is frequently discussed/mentioned, and there are some scenes with questionable consent and/or attempted rape. There are no explicit rape scenes.lemonflower's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Slavery
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Incest, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Miscarriage
Minor: Blood, Abandonment, Abortion, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Bullying, Pregnancy, Rape, Ableism, Physical abuse, Body shaming, and Chronic illness
another_aspiring_writer's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Rape and Racism
Minor: Abortion, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Racial slurs
kimberlina82's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Slavery, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Medical content, Infertility, War, Emotional abuse, Death, Rape, Alcohol, Abortion, Grief, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Classism, Colonisation, Blood, Toxic friendship, Racism, Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Child death, Bullying, and Animal death
spencerdance's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As racist as I expected it to be? More so. Standard white savior stuff mixed with just about every stereotype you could possibly imagine.
Better than the weird nonsense in the thornbirds, my comparison for all trashy epics. No. I'd rather read that again 10000 times than read this ever again.
Graphic: Colonisation, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Grief, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Child death, Animal death, Stalking, Sexual assault, Infertility, Gore, Dementia, Classism, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Racism, Ableism, Fatphobia, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Medical content, Incest, Cursing, War, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Death, Antisemitism, Rape, Sexism, and Pregnancy
tree_branch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Sexism, Violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Death, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Slavery, Grief, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Rape, Bullying, Classism, War, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Infidelity
whoz_ophelia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was a rollercoaster of emotions; anger and frustration not infrequent. The nuances in race, gender, and class relations
had me constantly questioning what I'd previously known to be true of that time and place.
I don't feel comfortable recommending this book to anyone because of the subject matter, but it was a wild read.
Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Racial slurs, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Miscarriage
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
remmyemmy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, War, Death, Child death, Murder, Sexism, and Physical abuse
RACIST