Reviews tagging 'Violence'

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

19 reviews

michaelion's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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

3.75

So it's come down to this huh. My last Toni Morrison fiction. This is heartbreaking. I liked the book; it's heartbreaking I have no more novels! But it does mean I can reread them for the first time now!

It's not her best work, but it's not her worst either. A breeze to read as usual. It hooked me more towards the end, or more than halfway through the book, which isn't good while reading but the parts before that were pleasant enough I didn't look at the book negatively. I'm sure it wasn't her intention but it is a little sad she didn't go out with a bang. This book is fine. I love Black love, and that was her primary love through all her books in all its different forms. All her books are about love! 🫶🏾

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Moderate: Blood, Murder, Racial slurs, Violence, Racism, Classism, Abandonment, Stalking, and Death of parent

Minor: Domestic abuse, Bullying, and Confinement

orizenda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Definitely not an easy read, but so full for such a short book. I didn’t know if I liked it at first, but I think the themes and surrealism that Morrison weaves in bring it to that next level. Not that I can say much as a white person, but I think this is an important story about colorism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Kidnapping

nellienellie's review

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

this is a great book, super emotional and delves into a lot of different forms of childhood trauma. it’s a great rollercoaster ride 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Violence, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

3littlewordz's review against another edition

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

4.0

This is the final standalone novel (really a novella) from the beloved Toni Morrison, and I'm so glad I listened to this in Muva Morrison's voice!

I don't have the vocabulary to express how I felt reading this novel. No words were wasted at all, and I actually wish some storylines

(Where did Bride's father go? Could we go more into depth with Queen's background? Why was Sophia even in a position to be falsely accused?)

were further explored. Still, with less than 200 pages, Muva Morrison chose which storylines to illuminate very intently. I had to keep reminding myself that Bride was pretty young because most of her decisions made absolutely no sense to my late 30s mind. The themes of child sexual and emotional abuse were interwoven throughout the story - incredibly heartbreaking, but it was not gratuitous. My only drawback is the length of the story, but I will gladly listen to or read again!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

tianxiao_shi's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Racism, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, and Death

blackcatkai's review against another edition

emotional sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

CW: child abuse, racism, colourism, violence, blood, casual ableism, sexual content, sexual assault (adult & child), death, murder, pedophilia

and outstanding novel about childhood trauma and how it affects people through adulthood. upsetting, sad, while still hopeful & wonderful. this was my first Toni Morrison and it will absolutely not be the last.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, Racism, Sexism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Blood, Child death, and Body horror

Minor: Ableism and Pregnancy

nouanni's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Racism and Abandonment

chloemia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, Child death, Rape, Child abuse, Death, and Sexual violence

Minor: Drug use and Drug abuse

taviarz's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

Leaving this unrated because I think Toni Morrison absolutely did what she intended to do and did it well. The embodiment and lasting effects of childhood trauma and sexual assault is a lot to handle which is why I don’t know if I can say I enjoyed the reading experience or would recommend it to people. Great book but definitely unsettling. CHECK CONTENT WARNINGS

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Rape, Death, Car accident, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Racism, Violence, Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Child death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Gaslighting, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, and Misogyny

Minor: Pregnancy, Bullying, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Vomit, and Alcohol

belovedsnail's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad fast-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

My initial thought is that it was slight in a way other Morrison books are not. But then there was also something interesting too— the lumpy magical realism, the fractured and changing perspective. I need yo think about this one for a while.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Violence