A review by lauren_shilling
Beloved by Toni Morrison

challenging dark reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

This was a very complicated book in my opinion. I thought the writing was incredible in so many different ways, so I really enjoyed that aspect of it. As for the characters, each character was so complex, especially characters like Sethe and Denver. I'm hesitant to say too much because I feel like the synopsis is a bit vague and I don't like to get into spoiler territory in reviews. I also feel like keeping the synopsis vague is a good thing because of how complex the characters and story are. Denver was such a compelling character, since when the books starts off she is very lonely, and she can come across as a bit closed off or bitter in some ways, but also very emotional in others. I really liked Denver and seeing her strengths and her flaws and how she grew. Sethe was obviously such a compelling and complex character, as you really dive into her motivations and the meaning and background behind all of her actions. She was a perfect main character to tell this story through in my opinion. Again, I don't want to say anything about the story that isn't in the synopsis, but I will say that this book is brutally honest in its portrayal of many things, and it doesn't shy away from things that other books/authors may be hesitant to discuss. In this way, this book offers a very unique perspective on slavery and on the time period it's set in that can be hard to find in other stories. I thought it was gut wrenching and overall, a very important story. However, be aware going into it that it is so complicated and can be hard to follow at times. However, I think this is intentional and a very good way to tell this story. It's confusing and can be hard to interpret but if you think about it you can get so much out of it. The only reason I didn't give this book higher than four stars is because I felt like, even though it is intentional, some things went over my head and I needed to go back to reread some parts often in order to understand where the story was going. Despite that, though, I found this to be a very incredible book and I would highly recommend it.
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