Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Beloved by Toni Morrison

55 reviews

cosmicbeaches's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

It’s a rich historical story that deals with a mother’s grief and makes one question what is right or wrong.

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emrosch's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It took some time for me to get used to the writing style and language, but once I did I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
The language is poetic, raw and honest. The story is emotional, painful and important. 

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chogangoof's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"You your best thing, Sethe. You are.'
'Me? Me?"

One of the most profound books that I've ever read. The story of a mother and former slave suffering immeasurable trauma following the abolition of slavery in the US. It's so incredibly written in every aspect. Just about every character sees Sethe as insane, she is but it's caused by all of her trauma. She experienced so much loss, abandonment, dehumanization, and brutality from her oppressors. She was raised in a world where she wasn't allowed to cope, so how could she know how to cope with what that upbringing dealt her? She is a broken person that deserves to be mended more than any other character I know of. She doesn't deserve any of this, none of these characters do, but that's the lingering effects of slavery. You could say that all of the conflicts of this book were caused by Sethe herself, but that is a fundamental misunderstanding of the systems that caused thislong before the beginning of the story at the advent of the proto-fascist antebellum South.

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brieflyblue's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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
This book was intriguing, revolting, inspiring, horrifying, and utterly captivating. I finished it in just a couple of days.

The content is often graphic and heart-wrenching. The list of potential triggers could be a mile long. Still, it was worth every second I spent reading it.

The characters felt so real. Despite them living totally different lives from my own, I felt I could understand why each of them felt and acted the way they did. 

I look forward to reading the rest of Toni Morrison’s books.

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sillycreature's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I have no words. 

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readingwithgoose's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

5.0

(reread) I didn't fully appreciate this book the first time I read it, about 8 years ago, but this time it took my breath away. This is imo one of the most heartbreaking and important works of fiction ever written. It reaches down to your soul and makes you feel the characters' despair so vividly. 

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f4ng4isha's review against another edition

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2.0

I really liked Toni Morrisons writing in Sula but it didn’t land well for me here Idk.

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grboph's review against another edition

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

4.75

This was really an amazing book - I've yet to read something by Toni Morrison that I didn't love. The magical-realist elements were new to me and while in all honesty I didn't fully understand all of them, I think I would get them more if I were to reread the book and they definitely added to the story and the complexity of the characters. Denver was definitely the most interesting character to me, and I think my favorite part of the book was when it switched to her point of view for a little bit. While I think I liked The Bluest Eye a little bit better, this was still a quite remarkable book that I will definitely remember for a long time.

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katerinatroyanovich's review against another edition

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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.

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ehwesson's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This book was very heavy but a good rood. I am glad I read it. 

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