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A review by lamontslament
Jazz by Toni Morrison
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Toni Morrison’s prose, as always, is immaculate. So many passages had me gasping for their beauty or cleverness.
I think what I didn’t like about this book is one of its features: the nonlinear, sketchy, call-back way the story is told feels very intentional. Jazz-like even. It just didn’t work for me. I felt I had to work too hard to figure out when/where/who was going on with the start of every new chapter.
A lovely read, I would recommend this to anyone who likes her work or wants to read an artful, complex book about the early 20th century black American experience. But of the 4 books by Morrison I’ve read, this comes in a distant 4th place for me.
I think what I didn’t like about this book is one of its features: the nonlinear, sketchy, call-back way the story is told feels very intentional. Jazz-like even. It just didn’t work for me. I felt I had to work too hard to figure out when/where/who was going on with the start of every new chapter.
A lovely read, I would recommend this to anyone who likes her work or wants to read an artful, complex book about the early 20th century black American experience. But of the 4 books by Morrison I’ve read, this comes in a distant 4th place for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Murder