Reviews with content warning for Torture - Beloved

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Beloved by Toni Morrison

112 reviews

mapricot1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

😭😭😭😭
was unsure how i felt about this book for a lot of me reading it but i think the ending really pulled it all together. as someone who usually reads books for escapism, defs hard to read books like this that are full of trauma and heavy themes, but v important to consume as a privileged white person especially so

the ending for me really drove home how like,,,, inconsequential everything that the characters did and that happened was. i feel like most books end with a note of "even if not much changed, it affected the lives of some people, and they will remember it forever, and isnt that beautiful" and this book instead was like. there are horrors upon horrors upon horrors. and maybe their circumstances improved. but there were still horrors upon horrors upon horrors after that. and it didnt change anything. it didnt warm peoples hearts or keep a flame going or get turned into tall tales, whether good or bad. there were horrors upon horrors and then people forgot. they forgot about it until they couldnt remember these people at all or what they had done or even remember that there was something there before that they had remembered. heartbreaking 😭😭 but also, its a very realistic book. that's just kind of how it is. like that's truly just how the world works, beyond our romanticised tales of it. i also loved the theme especially at the end of the land containing stories, the evidence of those stories is also erased after time, like everything is, but i love the idea that when you look upon land there are layers of histories and stories and experiences and memories layed upon it. i think thats a really beautiful way of looking at it.

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afroza's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative 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

3.5

I know this is supposed to be a Great Book. I wanted to like it a lot. And some parts, I do. But, I’m really thrown off by some of the choices Morrison makes in terms of what is emphasized or brought up again and again. I’m a bit too perturbed by some of those more obscene moments that it takes me out. I didn’t care for how the situation resolved- it came off rushed and, because there was so much of the build-up to the magical occult moments, underwhelming and frustrating. Only Denver is one I can sympathize. I did learn a lot, however, but I’m not raving about this book to others, nor will I likely read it again in the future.

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helenaps99's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.25

A very powerful classic. The narrative moved a bit slowly in the first half but it picked up in the second half and finished really beautifully. I liked the rotation of the POV between different main and minor characters, it provided well-rounded storytelling and showed the biases and short sights of characters like Paul D and Stamp Paid. Sethe’s POV, of course, was the most powerful, I loved her character and what she represented as a woman, a mother, and a former/fugitive slave. I wish I had read this and was able to discuss it in school, there are probably a ton of little nuances that I missed that give greater weight and clarity to the story.

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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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dara_m's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book deserves every bit of praise and acclaim it's gotten. I'm reminded of the Faulkner quote, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." This novel may have finally brought me around on magical realism – I think I get it now!

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zoekyriacou's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad fast-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

Absolutely exceptional book! Toni Morrison writes so exquisitely, even though I’m not normally a fan of magical realism and the time jumping can be a little confusing I was totally engrossed in this book. I am ashamed to say this may have been the first novel I’ve read on the main subject of slavery. This book will stay with me for a long time. See trigger warnings as there’s so much dark stuff

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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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laurenreads97's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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chavonnwshen's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was by far one of the most disturbing books that I've read, but what makes it disturbing is knowing that this was someone's reality. I can't imagine the mental fortitude it took to not collapse under the weight of the material while writing this book, but Morrison did so both beautifully and with love for her characters, regardless of their intent. Beloved is truly a masterpiece as there's so much craft and diversity in the writing. This is a book that I'll recommend to everyone but not everyone can handle it.

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aisclaradm's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Had to reduce my ratings of other books so that this one could stand out as probably the best book I’ve ever read, or close to it.

Bleak and chilling without descending into trauma porn, with an excellent plot. The prose is so beautiful that I had to adjust in my head what I understand “good writing” to be.

Overall a magnificent book.

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