Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Beloved

Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Beloved by Toni Morrison

10 reviews

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

ngl i was very confused for the first 60 pages, i feel like she has a very specific writing style that moves between narrators and time period without announcing it which can make it hard to get into but i actually really enjoyed that after i got into the rhythm. I like that a lot of stories/background are opened briefly in one chapter by a character and then explained in full by another character at a later point, it works rly well for a slow reveal. but yeah basically i rly love she writes and i think the length (tho a bit scary when youre 30 pgs in have no clue whats happening) was perfect
also the way she contrast the horror with little moments of like, sunlight?, like happiness (the iceskating or shadows holding hands etc) was so so so wonderful

'"its gonna hurt, now," said Amy. "Anything dead coming back to life hurts."'

'it never looked as terrible as it was and it made her wonder if hell was a pretty place too'

'she swallowed twice to prepare for the telling, to construct out of the strings she had heard all her life a net to hold Beloved'

'she will forgo the most violent of sunsets, stars as fat as dinner plates and all the blood of autumn and settle for the palest yellow if it comes from her Beloved.'

'Paul D believed he smiled back but his face was so cold he wasn't sure'

'He could not say to this woman who did not squint in the wind, "I am not a man."'

'He knew exactly what she meant: to get to a place where you could love anything you chose- not to need permission for desire- well now, that was freedom'

'How fast had he moved from his shame to hers. From his cold-house secret straight to her too-thick love.'

'The world is in this room. This here's all there is and all there needs to be.'

'I couldn't lay down nowhere in peace, back then. Now I can. I can sleep like the drowned, have mercy.'

Content Warnings

katerinatroyanovich's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.0

Oh. My. God. Beloved is a heartbreaking, poignant, horrific view into the shameful legacy of slavery in the United States. Written like poetry and haunting in every way, I took my time with this book. I wish I read it with a book club so we could dissect passages together so I would recommend at least reading this with a buddy. Sometimes it was so dark it was difficult to read (the iron bit, among many other things, is so upsetting - I had no idea this was a thing) but I’m so glad I did. A must read for Americans. This book deals with themes of generational trauma, collective and individual pain, living in the past, being unable to move forward, and the power of community healing and support all wrapped up in a bit of a ghost story. I will absolutely read Morrison’s other works now. She has such a unique writing style and voice! It is easy to see why this is a classic.

Content Warnings

realesttorturedpoet's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

morenowagain's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

viporras's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

kelly_e's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.25

Title: Beloved
Author: Toni Morrison
Series: Beloved Trilogy #1
Genre: Classic
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: September 16, 1987

T H R E E • W O R D S

Complex • Haunting • Brilliant

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe's new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.

Sethe works at beating back the past, but it makes itself heard and felt incessantly in her memory and in the lives of those around her. When a mysterious teenage girl arrives, calling herself Beloved, Sethe’s terrible secret explodes into the present.

💭 T H O U G H T S

While scouring lists of challenged books to find something I hadn't yet read, Beloved stood out among the rest. While I have heard so many amazing and wonderful things about Morrison as a person, as well as her work, I had never read anything. I knew to be prepared for an unsettling and stunning story, but I don't think anything could have ever prepared me properly.

Morrison's storytelling is just phenomenal - combining history with a magical touch - the writing style is just so unique. Her prose is simply stunning. There were many times when I had to pause to re-read what I'd just read because it was so beautiful. Her descriptions of the imagery and use of metaphors are so poignant. The characters she creates are flawed and real. At it's core, this is a portrayal of mother/daughter relationships and generational trauma. Sethe is reliving her past, questioning her decisions. Her story evokes so much emotion.

What kept this from being a five-star read is the ending - I was left feeling underwhelmed. There's so much build up - heartache, trauma, life, - within the pages and it kind of just felt like it ended. Maybe that's because it's a trilogy, and I would get more of what I was wanting in those books, but it just didn't leave me satisfied considering everything else the rest of the book delivers.

I tandem read the audio, read by the author, along with a physical copy. I don't think I would have enjoyed the experience as much if I had done one or the other. Morrison's voice carries a level of emotion above the words on the page. I believe tandem reading is what allowed me to get the full grasp of the story, and I would highly recommend it to anyone considering picking it up.

Beloved was an uncomfortable read that required sharp focus and attention. One of those books that I wanted to slow down and savour, yet just wanted to keep going. Several times I had to set it aside in order to digest the heaviness - a certain reminder of how awful these years were. It's one of those important and impactful stories, told by one of of the greatest story tellers.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• classic enthusiasts
• readers looking for something impactful
• fans of beautiful writing

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Something that is loved is never lost."

"Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined."

"There is no bad luck in the world but whitefolks."

"I don't care what she is. Grown don't mean a thing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that supposed to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing."

Content Warnings