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Why in the world did this book sit on my shelves for so long? I loved the story and the storytelling.
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“She was the third beer. Not the first one, which the throat receives with almost tearful gratitude; nor the second, that confirms and extends the pleasure of the first. But the third, the one you drink because it's there, because it can't hurt, and because what difference does it make?” & “She could not get his love (and the possibility that he did not think of her at all was intolerable), so she settled for his fear.” will live rent-free in my mind forever. toni is and will always be a total genius with her writing. her characters are always so well-articulated. there were several monologues, including one from the land itself, which were so powerful i had to put the book down and stare at the wall. i love her work for this reason above all, whether through her talent for storytelling in a broad sense or her stunning prose which stretches every little detail, her work will make you think. so much. magdalene called lena is so underrated as a character! maybe it’s the eldest daughter in me, but she did her big one when she told milkman about himself!! pilate is also my favorite toni morrison trope of the free and wild black woman. hagar is a gorgeous cautionary tale, utterly relatable. guitar’s pain is so vivid and his actions make a sad sense. milkman’s journey to spiritual growth — all i can say is we love a redemption arc!!!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5 stars for Morrison's writing itself; 2 stars for this particular audiobook production and the story
Wow, I didn't even know today was both Toni Morrison's and Audre Lorde's birthdays until I just randomly saw an e-mail about them in the Black History Bootcamp's newsletter. Having read [b:White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism|43708708|White Fragility Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism|Robin DiAngelo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548478235l/43708708._SY75_.jpg|58159636] over the previous two days, today I had a strong desire to start a book by either Morrison or Lorde. Because I was limited to audiobooks currently available through the libraries' apps, I ended up listening to the entirety of Song of Solomon during my four hour shift at work. I feel bad giving a beloved (pun intended) book by Toni Morrison a low rating, and on her birthday no less! But I have to be honest.
For me, the story did not start getting good until at least halfway through. It's her precise sequencing of words that make this novella so poetic and worthy of a Nobel Prize apparently. But the real problem I had was this: the audiobook I listened to is advertised as being read by the author, which is awesome. But without any warning or explanation, fragments of it are instead read by a robotic-sounding white guy (I think, though I couldn't find the person credited)!! The first time it happened, I reasoned that the original recording must have been corrupted or degraded, and so they had to splice this one little snippet with someone else's voice. But then it happens more and more, all the way to the end! Couldn't they have at least tried getting a fill-in reader who sounds even a little bit like Toni Morrison?! This experience was just cringey and jarring. I might give the book another shot down the road with either the text alone or the other audiobook that's out there, whose reader is praised for the job she does.
Wow, I didn't even know today was both Toni Morrison's and Audre Lorde's birthdays until I just randomly saw an e-mail about them in the Black History Bootcamp's newsletter. Having read [b:White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism|43708708|White Fragility Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism|Robin DiAngelo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548478235l/43708708._SY75_.jpg|58159636] over the previous two days, today I had a strong desire to start a book by either Morrison or Lorde. Because I was limited to audiobooks currently available through the libraries' apps, I ended up listening to the entirety of Song of Solomon during my four hour shift at work. I feel bad giving a beloved (pun intended) book by Toni Morrison a low rating, and on her birthday no less! But I have to be honest.
For me, the story did not start getting good until at least halfway through. It's her precise sequencing of words that make this novella so poetic and worthy of a Nobel Prize apparently. But the real problem I had was this: the audiobook I listened to is advertised as being read by the author, which is awesome. But without any warning or explanation, fragments of it are instead read by a robotic-sounding white guy (I think, though I couldn't find the person credited)!! The first time it happened, I reasoned that the original recording must have been corrupted or degraded, and so they had to splice this one little snippet with someone else's voice. But then it happens more and more, all the way to the end! Couldn't they have at least tried getting a fill-in reader who sounds even a little bit like Toni Morrison?! This experience was just cringey and jarring. I might give the book another shot down the road with either the text alone or the other audiobook that's out there, whose reader is praised for the job she does.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
This is definitely in my top two favorite Toni Morrison novels. We all know she's a master at her craft, but she had me in SUSPENSE in that last quarter of the book. There are so many layers, themes, and metaphors in this book that I'll be unpacking for weeks to come.
Flight is a central and recurring theme throughout the book. The book opens and ends with flight as a means of escape - not a geographical escape but a mental escape from the bondage of capitalism, accumulation, and domination. It is no coincidence that the man in the opening scene who jumps from Mercy hospital is a tax collector.
Connected to flight Pilate (pronounced pilot) is the guide of Milkman's journey and flight as he retraces her steps back to Virginia. Naming, tradition, mythology and memory of where you come from are vital parts of this book. Pilate is a really interesting character in that she creates herself. She is a self invented person as evidence by her lack of a belly button and being born to a dead mother. She is named after Pontius Pilate who presided over the trial of Jesus and ordered his crucifixion. Which I'm still unpacking.
Pilate is juxtaposed against her brother Macon Dead - his focus is to own, build, possess, and accumulate. His life and his marriage is joyless and loveless. Pilate takes an opposite path living jn near poverty but living a life of love and generosity in abundance. She represents a mothering that knows no bounds.
Following in Pilate's footsteps on a search for gold Milkman journeys through his family history - starting in the cave where his grandfather's body was left and meeting the midwife that brought his father and Pilate into the world and kept them safe after their father was killed. He then travels to his father's hometown and to where Sing and Jake his great grandparents were from. It is here that he learns about the original flying Africans and his lifelong obsession with flight comes full circle.
During this journey Milkman slowly loses his material trappings - his suitcase, his clothes, his watch, and his bond to Guitar that has been destroyed by greed. It is in this final loss that he finally takes flight which I took to mean finally releasing his bondage to greed and over accumulation.
As an aside I'm really interested in someone breaking down Morrison's portrayals of problematic mothers. Milkman getting his name from being nursed by his mother for far too long. The mother in Tar Baby who abuses her child. Sethe's killing of her child rather than having them grow up in slavery in Beloved. Eva burning her son Plum. Each is an instance of a love taken to its furthest reaches and turned violent.
Flight is a central and recurring theme throughout the book. The book opens and ends with flight as a means of escape - not a geographical escape but a mental escape from the bondage of capitalism, accumulation, and domination. It is no coincidence that the man in the opening scene who jumps from Mercy hospital is a tax collector.
Connected to flight Pilate (pronounced pilot) is the guide of Milkman's journey and flight as he retraces her steps back to Virginia. Naming, tradition, mythology and memory of where you come from are vital parts of this book. Pilate is a really interesting character in that she creates herself. She is a self invented person as evidence by her lack of a belly button and being born to a dead mother. She is named after Pontius Pilate who presided over the trial of Jesus and ordered his crucifixion. Which I'm still unpacking.
Pilate is juxtaposed against her brother Macon Dead - his focus is to own, build, possess, and accumulate. His life and his marriage is joyless and loveless. Pilate takes an opposite path living jn near poverty but living a life of love and generosity in abundance. She represents a mothering that knows no bounds.
Following in Pilate's footsteps on a search for gold Milkman journeys through his family history - starting in the cave where his grandfather's body was left and meeting the midwife that brought his father and Pilate into the world and kept them safe after their father was killed. He then travels to his father's hometown and to where Sing and Jake his great grandparents were from. It is here that he learns about the original flying Africans and his lifelong obsession with flight comes full circle.
During this journey Milkman slowly loses his material trappings - his suitcase, his clothes, his watch, and his bond to Guitar that has been destroyed by greed. It is in this final loss that he finally takes flight which I took to mean finally releasing his bondage to greed and over accumulation.
As an aside I'm really interested in someone breaking down Morrison's portrayals of problematic mothers. Milkman getting his name from being nursed by his mother for far too long. The mother in Tar Baby who abuses her child. Sethe's killing of her child rather than having them grow up in slavery in Beloved. Eva burning her son Plum. Each is an instance of a love taken to its furthest reaches and turned violent.
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
This is the kind of novel that demands a reread so as to fully appreciate the depth of character and story craft. While it begins slow (with rather lengthy chapters), the reader becomes inexplicably drawn to the characters and their outcomes. This was ultimately heartbreaking, but beautiful. Morrison's writing will keep you reading.