A review by hodgeonlucy
Beloved by Toni Morrison

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was heartwrenching, disturbing, and quite scary in certain parts due to Morrison's ability to create tension. I would not recommend it to anyone who may be struggling with loss or who can be easily triggered by scenes of violence, although I'd be surprised if someone with even the highest desensitivity didn't react to some parts of this novel. I would encourage anyone who feels they can to read this book; it was an important, nuanced, and deep exploration of slavery and survival. Morrison's characters were as deep as they were interesting, full of nuance and moral ambiguity. The novel's focus on love, pain, and loss were brutally honest and painful, in parts making you question how much love can justify harm. The exploration of these themes through family and more specifically, through motherhood was beautiful but heartbreaking; the conspicuous and forced absence of paternity added a further dynamic to this pain, highlighting the purposeful construction of slavery to rob Black people of any semblance of human connection. Dehumanisation, and trying to rehumanise afterwards, is another main focus of the book and is beautifully woven into the other themes to create a powerful yet painful narrative.
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