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colorfulleo92's review
3.0
I'm not sure how to rate this book. Its well written and very engaging but not enjoyable at all. An old man married an 11 year old it's just so wrong and difficult to read on its own. It took me a long time to finish this book because I had a difficulty wanting to pick it back up even though its a rather short book.
cclift1114's review
4.0
An intriguing tale of how easily love and friendship can turn to hatred, especially under the power of a negative influence. And how simultaneously difficult and easy it can be to find that buried love again.
chanteld's review
5.0
Toni Morrison takes you on an exploration of passion -- dark and all consuming -- the complexity of love, on -- the complexity of love, friendship and all the characters are seeking love.
Once again she tells a heartbreaking tale of innocence corrupted.
The narrators, the primary voices of the nonlinear narrative are L, Heed the Night, Christine and Junior. Across three generations the Cosey women or Bill Cosey's women fight each other to gain in favour. Even in death is power to cloud their visions of each other and themselves remain.
The nonlinear narrative was at times difficult to follow. But soon it becomes very clear when Christine, Heed, L and Junior are speaking.
Once again she tells a heartbreaking tale of innocence corrupted.
The narrators, the primary voices of the nonlinear narrative are L, Heed the Night, Christine and Junior. Across three generations the Cosey women or Bill Cosey's women fight each other to gain in favour. Even in death is power to cloud their visions of each other and themselves remain.
The nonlinear narrative was at times difficult to follow. But soon it becomes very clear when Christine, Heed, L and Junior are speaking.
pattydsf's review against another edition
3.0
This is my second Morrison novel in less than two months. I read A Mercy for my book group and realized that I found that novel challenging, but excellent. So I wanted to see how I would relate to another one of her novels. This one was read by Toni Morrison.
I am impressed by Morrison's ability to narrate her own novel. Reading for audio books is not easy, and I have listened to few authors who do a good job reading their books. Morrison's reading enhanced this book.
Love was not an easy story to read. As often happens with Morrison's books, when I have finally figured out the story, that is when the novel ends. The reader never knows where Up Beach is, but we do know that the important man in Up Beach is Bill Cosey. The whole book and the world of Up Beach revolves around this man, long after he is dead.
Morrison took me to another world that was unfamiliar to me. She taught me, again, that the vagaries of humans are the same no matter the time or place. People, in Morrison's world do not love or hate easily. Life is always complicated and never easy. However, as I read Morrison, life, no matter what, is always worth living.
I am not sure how soon I want to visit one of Morrison's books. But I will go back for her fiction is challenging and wonderful.
I am impressed by Morrison's ability to narrate her own novel. Reading for audio books is not easy, and I have listened to few authors who do a good job reading their books. Morrison's reading enhanced this book.
Love was not an easy story to read. As often happens with Morrison's books, when I have finally figured out the story, that is when the novel ends. The reader never knows where Up Beach is, but we do know that the important man in Up Beach is Bill Cosey. The whole book and the world of Up Beach revolves around this man, long after he is dead.
Morrison took me to another world that was unfamiliar to me. She taught me, again, that the vagaries of humans are the same no matter the time or place. People, in Morrison's world do not love or hate easily. Life is always complicated and never easy. However, as I read Morrison, life, no matter what, is always worth living.
I am not sure how soon I want to visit one of Morrison's books. But I will go back for her fiction is challenging and wonderful.
ebonyutley's review
3.0
Toni Morrison books should be read twice. I confess to immense impatience every time I read a novel yearning to find out how it ends only to realize that in my rush, I’ve missed a plethora of details that make the ending make sense. Upon arrival at the conclusion of Love, I was also convinced that I hadn’t learned anything and the book was a disappointment until I started to journal and then the ideas poured out of me like the tears of a heartbreak. Reading a Morrison novel is never about the plot for me, it’s about the emotions that are evoked after the last page is turned. It’s about learning about myself and linking my feelings to those of her characters and wondering if that kind emotional solicitation is something I can learn how to do as a writer. The plots of Morrison novels are similar. She notes in the forward that people claim she writes always about love when in reality she writes about betrayal. Because you cannot have one without the other at least not within black lives—imagined and real. (Having never been white, I can’t speak for white people.) And as much as I admire Morrison for writing so introspectively about so many aspects of “us,” I can’t help but feel depressed at the end of her books. So much loss, so much regret. I imagine the only way it doesn’t destroy us is because death is not the end of our lives, it’s just another state of being with room for apologies, exploration, answers, accountability, and love—at long last. Even though from the first pages, I desperately wanted to know who was talking and why and how the story was going to end, I’m glad I had to wait so no spoilers for this review. Read it. Wait for it. Love it. If you can.
rcielocruz's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely gutting. Bewildering. The most stunning use of language. A scalpel that cut open made up people and pulled out true histories and the unending universes hidden inside them. I'm wrecked.
babsxi123's review
5.0
The dialogue made this book a little more harder to follow as opposed to other Morrison books, and you could say finishing this was a labor of LOVE. I’m always not sure how to review Morrison’s books, because there is truly none better to me. The descriptions of the setting, characters, and emotions are phenomenal by themselves, and when you look at her work on the deeper lever of plot, theme, and character development, there is no one better.
This novel, like a good chunk of Morrison’s work, is heavy and just blatantly sad at times. She opens the novel suggesting that “loose women” are simply trying to find love in their relationships with men. We realize throughout the book, and more specifically by the end, that this drive is what causes many of the women in the novel to be broken. We also realize that all humans are just looking for love and to be seen, heard, and made to feel safe. True love is safe wanting.
Anyway, Charles Baudelaire said to “always be a poet, even in prose,” and Toni Morrison is my favorite poet.
This novel, like a good chunk of Morrison’s work, is heavy and just blatantly sad at times. She opens the novel suggesting that “loose women” are simply trying to find love in their relationships with men. We realize throughout the book, and more specifically by the end, that this drive is what causes many of the women in the novel to be broken. We also realize that all humans are just looking for love and to be seen, heard, and made to feel safe. True love is safe wanting.
Anyway, Charles Baudelaire said to “always be a poet, even in prose,” and Toni Morrison is my favorite poet.
lilnic's review
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.25