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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
The ending of this book was emotionally gripping; however, the beginning—id say like the first 150 pages—was very slow and really made me not want to finish the book in the first place.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
if there's one thing Toni Morrison knows how to do, it's hook you with the first paragraph of her book. the opening of Tar Baby feels like a mystery/thriller, and reminded me so much of the opening to Paradise with the way it drops the reader right into the tension of the story. there is truly so much going on in this book—as there are in all Morrison books—that some major plot points somehow become B plots (e.g. the relationship between Ondine and Margaret—which I would have loved to explore more). but it's a struggle to really grasp the central issue of the novel: nature vs. civilization? gender equity? colorism? the ways that oppressed people can and do oppress others? colonialism? the insufferability of valerian street??? the answer is yes to all of the above. I know that I'll love revisiting all of Morisson's novels for years to come and I am excited to see what I get out of this story the next time I read it.
This is more than a love story between two individuals. This is more than a literary investigation into the relationships between blacks and whites. This is almost like a living force who has the power to breathe life into plants and places, to tear apart and rebuild heritage and history, and to turn what could be our biggest dream into our worst nightmare, and vice versa.
Anything TM gets 5 stars but now I must unpack it because what just happened?!
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm a month late writing this review--nothing to do with the novel, which I very much enjoyed, just busy readjusting to working again after a year of doing as I please and managing my time all by my lonesome. Seems like Tar Baby is the least beloved (yeah, pun intended) of Morrison's novels, and I see why: it lacked much of the raw emotion and horror of her earlier novels, but I actually found it to be the best of her first four, at least from a novelist's and literary scholar's point of view. The lack of emotion signals, at least for me, a more subtle, better crafted narrative. Actually, The Bluest Eye might be the best as it best combines, I suppose, the raw horror of the treatment and internal agony of being black in the U.S.A. along with a pretty polished narrative, but I very much appreciated the complexity and subtlety here and found the questions that Tar Baby asks, and the no-win situations it presents, more compelling. This may well be because I'm white, but I can't help that, can I.
I hope I'm not responding this way because this is the first of Morrison's novels that I've read with convincingly drawn white characters, but I can't discount the idea out of hand. (Although a color-blind society is an ideal well worth striving for, we're not there yet and, until we are, we white people are going to have to question our assumptions at every turn so I'm putting mine in question here.) Rather, I believe that, as a novelist and scholar, I better appreciated the interactions of the characters in Tar Baby and the ensemble approach to crafting a narrative around them, rather than Morrison's previous three novels which, in terms of pure craft, often seemed to follow characters down rabbit holes that upset their overall narrative arc, leaving them, in the end, feeling unbalanced somehow and often a bit ad hoc, despite so many stunningly beautiful passages and, indeed, super well drawn characters.
Formulating this review, I was reminded of Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of the dialogic, that Russian critic's view that novels are superior to poems because, unlike the monologue of the poet, the novelist speaks through what he calls the dialogic, or a series of voices or characters--really points of view--interacting. This technique is pulled off rather fabulously in Tar Baby. My only beef is that the last chapter seemed inconclusive and, ultimately unnecessary. Cut it and this is a near perfectly framed tale of six characters in search of a transcendence of self, which, sadly, none of them really get to achieve. But it's not for lack of trying. (That's where the tar baby analogy comes in.)
I hope I'm not responding this way because this is the first of Morrison's novels that I've read with convincingly drawn white characters, but I can't discount the idea out of hand. (Although a color-blind society is an ideal well worth striving for, we're not there yet and, until we are, we white people are going to have to question our assumptions at every turn so I'm putting mine in question here.) Rather, I believe that, as a novelist and scholar, I better appreciated the interactions of the characters in Tar Baby and the ensemble approach to crafting a narrative around them, rather than Morrison's previous three novels which, in terms of pure craft, often seemed to follow characters down rabbit holes that upset their overall narrative arc, leaving them, in the end, feeling unbalanced somehow and often a bit ad hoc, despite so many stunningly beautiful passages and, indeed, super well drawn characters.
Formulating this review, I was reminded of Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of the dialogic, that Russian critic's view that novels are superior to poems because, unlike the monologue of the poet, the novelist speaks through what he calls the dialogic, or a series of voices or characters--really points of view--interacting. This technique is pulled off rather fabulously in Tar Baby. My only beef is that the last chapter seemed inconclusive and, ultimately unnecessary. Cut it and this is a near perfectly framed tale of six characters in search of a transcendence of self, which, sadly, none of them really get to achieve. But it's not for lack of trying. (That's where the tar baby analogy comes in.)
some of the prose is just like unbelievable in here. like the new york section is insane. the dinner scene is SO shocking i was on the edge of my seat. just great character work of the core six, though the character work beyond that felt somewhat lacking. tho perhaps this is just because i found the first half of the book to be very slow (though obviously still beautiful).
her writing is just so perfect. i think with this and song of solomon she has a lot of trouble with pace because of how much she wants us to know before anything of note happens. which is okay and real given the domestic space in which most of these problems emerge. but it prevents me from calling this perfect. and that’s okay.
her writing is just so perfect. i think with this and song of solomon she has a lot of trouble with pace because of how much she wants us to know before anything of note happens. which is okay and real given the domestic space in which most of these problems emerge. but it prevents me from calling this perfect. and that’s okay.
Two couples living in the Caribbean, one white couple and their domestic help the black couple. The white couple rarely talk to each other but gets excited about possible visit from their estranged son. The black couple has no kids of their own but has raised their niece who is visiting from Paris, New York as a world traveler. When in their midst comes a washed ashore stranger that cause the eggs in everyone's relationship to crack. From the treatment of other minorities on the island, to the treatment of the estranged son. The washed up stranger falls in love with the niece and they escape to the States for a very romantic excursion but are soon caught up in different worlds that collide with thought provoking consequences. Toni Morrison has written a book about people attitudes between white and black, poor and rich, light skin and dark skin, and has giving me food for thought about life and people relationships with each other.
(4.5) interesting in a strange way; not her best work, but still better than many could ever write..! anchoring the narrative in the tar baby story was toooo good actually. jadine and son had odd personalities, which made their relationship dynamic feel unnatural (but i think that was the point, considering tar baby and brer rabbit); i liked how all the characters were written overall. the ending made me very sad, especially the small bit about alma, and i loved the ambiguity of son's conclusion. some parts were slightly corny, but toni morrison can write whatever she wants lol. an intriguing analysis about the master-slave dichotomy/rejecting blackness/navigating whiteness/socioeconomic differences/misogyny versus misogynoir.. like whew