Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Alfred A. Knopf, (1987)
Description
Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe's new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Filled with bitter poetry and suspense as taut as a rope, Beloved is a towering achievement. After the Civil War ends, Sethe longingly recalls the two-year-old daughter whom she killed when threatened with recapture after escaping from slavery 18 years before.… (more)
Media reviews
"Beloved" is Toni Morrison's fifth novel, and another triumph. Indeed, Ms. Morrison's versatility and technical and emotional range appear to know no bounds. If there were any doubts about her stature as a pre-eminent American novelist, of her own or any other generation, ''Beloved'' will put them
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to rest. Show Less
As a record of white brutality mitigated by rare acts of decency and compassion, and as a testament to the courageous lives of a tormented people, this novel is a milestone in the chronicling of the black experience in America. It is Morrison writing at the height of her considerable powers, and it
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should not be missed. Show Less
Morrison traces the shifting shapes of suffering and mythic accommodations, through the shell of psychosis to the core of a victim's dark violence, with a lyrical insistence and a clear sense of the time when a beleaguered peoples' "only grace...was the grace they could imagine."
User reviews
LibraryThing member jnwelch
Beloved by Toni Morrison is set in a rural area outside Cincinnati after the end of the Civil War, but it also frequently flashes back about 20 years to life-shaping events at "Sweet Home", a nightmarishly named Kentucky slave plantation. This is the first novel by her I've read, and I came away
Sethe is a woman in her 30's who was devastatingly mistreated at Sweet Home after the "kind" owner passed away and a relative, the "school teacher" arrived. But she's a survivor, and makes her way, with her daughter Denver, to her mother-in-law's Ohio farmhouse. The house comes to be haunted by Sethe's daughter Beloved (name taken from her funeral service), who was gruesomely murdered under dreadful circumstances. This supernatural element is treated as practical and real, not late night movie scary. Lonely Denver considers the ghost a friend, and even Sethe finds comfort in her presence.
The arrival of another former slave with romantic feelings for Sethe upsets the balance, and Beloved becomes more aggressively present. Members of the town become involved as concern rises, culminating in a reverberation of Beloved's original fate.
The effects of slavery are seen everywhere in the book, with the power wielded by whites over blacks in that time having myriad toxic effects. Sethe's mother-in-law shares the lesson she's learned from her "sixty years a slave and ten years free": "there was no bad luck in the world but white people. 'They don't know when to stop'", she said." We see occasional acts of kindness, but they are overwhelmed by slavery at its worst. There are reminders of the Holocaust - a sense of superiority justifying atrocious acts. A treatment of people as not-people. And the desperate acts of the oppressed. Even those more fortunate had not "lived a livable life. Even the educated colored: the long-school people, the doctors, the teachers, the paper-writers and businessmen had a hard row to hoe. In addition to having to use their heads to get ahead, they had the whole race sitting there. You needed two heads for that."
It's easy to see why this has become a modern classic. It realistically conveys slavery's damaging effects, and romanticizes no one, including Sethe. The supernatural element engages the reader in a new way, seemingly rooted in black folklore, with elements of magic realism. The writing is exceptional from beginning to end, including passages like this one: "There was a time when she scanned the fields every morning and every evening for her boys. . . . Cloud shadow on the road, an old woman, a wandering goat untethered and gnawing bramble - each looked at first like Howard - no, Buglar. Little by little she stopped and their thirteen-year-old faces faded completely into their baby ones, which came to her only in sleep. When her dreams roamed outside {the farmhouse}, anywhere they wished, she saw them sometimes in beautiful trees, their little legs barely visible in the leaves. Sometimes they ran along the railroad track laughing, too loud, apparently, to hear her because they never did turn around." Sethe is torn throughout between not wanting to look back, and wanting what was good in the past to come back and find her.
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very impressed by her writing. The novel is an industrial strength reminder of the horrible treatment of so many blacks by so many whites during that time. "To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay. The 'better' life she believed she and Denver were living was simply not that other one."Sethe is a woman in her 30's who was devastatingly mistreated at Sweet Home after the "kind" owner passed away and a relative, the "school teacher" arrived. But she's a survivor, and makes her way, with her daughter Denver, to her mother-in-law's Ohio farmhouse. The house comes to be haunted by Sethe's daughter Beloved (name taken from her funeral service), who was gruesomely murdered under dreadful circumstances. This supernatural element is treated as practical and real, not late night movie scary. Lonely Denver considers the ghost a friend, and even Sethe finds comfort in her presence.
The arrival of another former slave with romantic feelings for Sethe upsets the balance, and Beloved becomes more aggressively present. Members of the town become involved as concern rises, culminating in a reverberation of Beloved's original fate.
The effects of slavery are seen everywhere in the book, with the power wielded by whites over blacks in that time having myriad toxic effects. Sethe's mother-in-law shares the lesson she's learned from her "sixty years a slave and ten years free": "there was no bad luck in the world but white people. 'They don't know when to stop'", she said." We see occasional acts of kindness, but they are overwhelmed by slavery at its worst. There are reminders of the Holocaust - a sense of superiority justifying atrocious acts. A treatment of people as not-people. And the desperate acts of the oppressed. Even those more fortunate had not "lived a livable life. Even the educated colored: the long-school people, the doctors, the teachers, the paper-writers and businessmen had a hard row to hoe. In addition to having to use their heads to get ahead, they had the whole race sitting there. You needed two heads for that."
It's easy to see why this has become a modern classic. It realistically conveys slavery's damaging effects, and romanticizes no one, including Sethe. The supernatural element engages the reader in a new way, seemingly rooted in black folklore, with elements of magic realism. The writing is exceptional from beginning to end, including passages like this one: "There was a time when she scanned the fields every morning and every evening for her boys. . . . Cloud shadow on the road, an old woman, a wandering goat untethered and gnawing bramble - each looked at first like Howard - no, Buglar. Little by little she stopped and their thirteen-year-old faces faded completely into their baby ones, which came to her only in sleep. When her dreams roamed outside {the farmhouse}, anywhere they wished, she saw them sometimes in beautiful trees, their little legs barely visible in the leaves. Sometimes they ran along the railroad track laughing, too loud, apparently, to hear her because they never did turn around." Sethe is torn throughout between not wanting to look back, and wanting what was good in the past to come back and find her.
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LibraryThing member theokester
This book was actually supposed to be one of the books for a class I cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. It was also listed as one of the best American novels of the past 25 years...so I kept it even after canceling the class. While it was an interesting story and a thought provoking read, I had
Writing Style
The narrative was written in a close third person following very closely alongside the minds of a few main characters, Sethe primarily but also Denver, Paul D and some other characters who showed up later (Stamp & even Beloved herself). The voices used were likely fairly authentic to the voices of mid/late-1800 recently freed slaves in America. The grammar was a little mixed up at times, but generally very understandable.
The grammar wasn't as difficult to follow as the actual style of the voices themselves. Often, I was caught in a sort of stream-of-consciousness type narrative from one of the characters. Being pulled that far inside the character's head made it difficult for me to keep my bearings or perspective clear. The roundabout way subjects were treated left me confused and really slowed down the reading for me while I tried to keep the message straight. I'm not sure if this disorientation was intentional or if it's my own personal distance from this type of character that made it hard, but that was my primary complaint with the book.
Characters, Setting, Tone, etc
The characters were well created and very alive to me, especially as the book progressed. Even though the 'stream of consciousness' writing hung me up a lot, it also helped me get to know the characters better. I felt like I understood Sethe and Denver much better after getting into their heads.
The settings fluctuated back and forth for me...sometimes they felt extremely real and vivid and other times they felt very flat and clapboard/2-d.
My biggest complaint with the characters and the setting was that I often lost site of the fact that this was set in the mid-1800s in a post-civil-war/abolitionist nation just rising out of slavery. The tone of the novel was often the largest element, and that tone often didn't ring "post-civil-war" to me.
Again, it could be my distance from the subject but many times through the book, it was almost a shock to be reminded that these characters had just recently been living on a plantation as slaves. Most of the time while I was reading, my mind conjured up a more contemporary setting...people living in a poor borough in the 1900s, perhaps even the late-1900s.
Maybe that should be a compliment to the story rather than a detractor...it shows that this is a Timeless sort of tale that could easily happen 150 years ago or last week.
Themes
This novel presented a number of strong messages.
The racial message was naturally there loud and clear. It came as a strong reminder of the horrific reality that was slavery in the U.S.A...and the racism that followed after abolitionism...and even today. I loved the line where Sethe comments that she has her freedom now, but she's still not free.
That sense of freedom leads into another major theme, that of Identity. Sethe and these other ex-slaves are trying to redefine themselves in a world that has chewed them up and spit them out. Beyond the slave reference, Sethe and her family have an added stigma because of Beloved. All of the characters come face-to-face with their own identity (or lack thereof) and have to take major actions to determine what they want to become.
The other major theme that struck me was that of Family and of relations within the Family. Most of what Sethe did was for her family. She was driven to escape slavery to protect and provide a better life for her family. She ran with her kids in tow to the tool shed when the white authorities came, because she had to protect her family. She went to prison for her family. She lived alone and stigmatized in a haunted house in an effort to keep her family whole. And yet, her actions also served to drive her family apart. Her sons leave as soon as they feel physically capable of doing so. Her remaining living daughter Denver is totally estranged and practically ignored by her. Going back to the "identity" factor, Sethe hasn't really learned how to be a mother and has to learn what it means to create a family in the world she's living in.
Overall
Overall I had a hard time with this book. It was a very slow read for me, often talking itself in circles and leaving me confused. Still, I found the story very interesting and thought provoking. I felt awful for Sethe and her family and for the trials they had to endure. Even though, as I mentioned above, I felt that the 'slavery' theme often got overshadowed, I was still struck by the awful fact that slavery did exist (still exists some places in the world) and just how awful it was. Even the "good" slave owners (of "Sweet Home" where Sethe ran from) were despicable and made me shrink in shame.
It was a good book, but hard to read. I don't know how good the movie was, but if it's true enough to the book, I might recommend watching that rather than trying to push through the book.
Still, it's worth reading if only to get a new insight into the world of slavery and racism that raged (and still lingers) in America and the world.
***
3 stars
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a hard time with this book for a few different reasons.Writing Style
The narrative was written in a close third person following very closely alongside the minds of a few main characters, Sethe primarily but also Denver, Paul D and some other characters who showed up later (Stamp & even Beloved herself). The voices used were likely fairly authentic to the voices of mid/late-1800 recently freed slaves in America. The grammar was a little mixed up at times, but generally very understandable.
The grammar wasn't as difficult to follow as the actual style of the voices themselves. Often, I was caught in a sort of stream-of-consciousness type narrative from one of the characters. Being pulled that far inside the character's head made it difficult for me to keep my bearings or perspective clear. The roundabout way subjects were treated left me confused and really slowed down the reading for me while I tried to keep the message straight. I'm not sure if this disorientation was intentional or if it's my own personal distance from this type of character that made it hard, but that was my primary complaint with the book.
Characters, Setting, Tone, etc
The characters were well created and very alive to me, especially as the book progressed. Even though the 'stream of consciousness' writing hung me up a lot, it also helped me get to know the characters better. I felt like I understood Sethe and Denver much better after getting into their heads.
The settings fluctuated back and forth for me...sometimes they felt extremely real and vivid and other times they felt very flat and clapboard/2-d.
My biggest complaint with the characters and the setting was that I often lost site of the fact that this was set in the mid-1800s in a post-civil-war/abolitionist nation just rising out of slavery. The tone of the novel was often the largest element, and that tone often didn't ring "post-civil-war" to me.
Again, it could be my distance from the subject but many times through the book, it was almost a shock to be reminded that these characters had just recently been living on a plantation as slaves. Most of the time while I was reading, my mind conjured up a more contemporary setting...people living in a poor borough in the 1900s, perhaps even the late-1900s.
Maybe that should be a compliment to the story rather than a detractor...it shows that this is a Timeless sort of tale that could easily happen 150 years ago or last week.
Themes
This novel presented a number of strong messages.
The racial message was naturally there loud and clear. It came as a strong reminder of the horrific reality that was slavery in the U.S.A...and the racism that followed after abolitionism...and even today. I loved the line where Sethe comments that she has her freedom now, but she's still not free.
That sense of freedom leads into another major theme, that of Identity. Sethe and these other ex-slaves are trying to redefine themselves in a world that has chewed them up and spit them out. Beyond the slave reference, Sethe and her family have an added stigma because of Beloved. All of the characters come face-to-face with their own identity (or lack thereof) and have to take major actions to determine what they want to become.
The other major theme that struck me was that of Family and of relations within the Family. Most of what Sethe did was for her family. She was driven to escape slavery to protect and provide a better life for her family. She ran with her kids in tow to the tool shed when the white authorities came, because she had to protect her family. She went to prison for her family. She lived alone and stigmatized in a haunted house in an effort to keep her family whole. And yet, her actions also served to drive her family apart. Her sons leave as soon as they feel physically capable of doing so. Her remaining living daughter Denver is totally estranged and practically ignored by her. Going back to the "identity" factor, Sethe hasn't really learned how to be a mother and has to learn what it means to create a family in the world she's living in.
Overall
Overall I had a hard time with this book. It was a very slow read for me, often talking itself in circles and leaving me confused. Still, I found the story very interesting and thought provoking. I felt awful for Sethe and her family and for the trials they had to endure. Even though, as I mentioned above, I felt that the 'slavery' theme often got overshadowed, I was still struck by the awful fact that slavery did exist (still exists some places in the world) and just how awful it was. Even the "good" slave owners (of "Sweet Home" where Sethe ran from) were despicable and made me shrink in shame.
It was a good book, but hard to read. I don't know how good the movie was, but if it's true enough to the book, I might recommend watching that rather than trying to push through the book.
Still, it's worth reading if only to get a new insight into the world of slavery and racism that raged (and still lingers) in America and the world.
***
3 stars
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LibraryThing member igjoe
Once again a very popular book has disappointed me. Boring and slow. I can see the qualities in this book, but it feels like a book that you are being forced to read in high school. Over-hyped and a struggle to finish.
LibraryThing member MoniqueReads
Before I get to a review I have a story to tell. When I was growing up, I lived in a mostly white town. In fact, I think there was only one other black family in the whole town. So, my grandmother felt the need to constantly give me books written by black authors, and try to force me to read them.
What a difference twenty years make. I still believe that "Beloved" is a difficult read. The language and imagery is challenge. But I have to say that I enjoyed every last page. Morrison is a master with the English language. I could see the characters, the town, their past, and their present. For me Morrison made it all come alive. Now that I have really read the book, I can't remember what I found so difficult about it. Maybe my vocabulary and reading ability have evolved (I seriously hope so or the public school system has a lot to answer too).
The characters were very well thought out and portrayed. Each of the main characters (Sethe, Paul D, and Denver) grow throughout the novel. Morrison took the reader inside their thoughts and let you see their feelings and the reasons for their actions. Nothing was left to guess about. Each character had their own personality and past that shaped their decisions. It was intriguing to see how the events in the past lead them to the point where the story takes place. How these events shape how they each react to Beloved's presence.
Now for some people this will be a difficult read. While I enjoyed how Morrison was able to pact so much into the story, I can also see where it would make it hard for some. There are a lot of different things going on. A good portion of the story is dealt with through flash backs. Sethe, has flashbacks to her time as a slave and her escape. Paul D, has flashbacks to his own enslavement, incarceration, and all the hardship he had to go through. Denver has flashbacks to her lonely painful child. Sometimes it can be hard to figure out since Morrison gives you bits and pieces at a time. But I did enjoy her method, it just made me continue to turn the page.
Another thing that can be hard is the imagery. While Morrison does not go into great detail, the subject matter is harsh. And the things that characters go through are sad and difficult (it is a post slave tale). The decisions that they made at times can be unthinkable to someone not in their position.
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I would not have had a problem with it if it had not been for the fact that the books that she picked always seemed to deal with slavery. And for 8 or 9 year old me, that topic was too distressful. So, one day she gave me "Beloved" to read. Yes, my grandmother gave me, a 8/9 year old little girl, "Beloved". Needless to say, that I was so confused by the first chapter. This book is hard for some adults to read, I cannot begin to understand why she thought it was appropriate for a child. I have a feeling that she did not read the book herself but did like the concept. But anyways, I did not pick up that book until two decades later and was quick to tell anyone who asked that it was difficult and I would never try to read it again. In walks the Pulitzer Project and 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die and "Beloved" is on my TBR list.What a difference twenty years make. I still believe that "Beloved" is a difficult read. The language and imagery is challenge. But I have to say that I enjoyed every last page. Morrison is a master with the English language. I could see the characters, the town, their past, and their present. For me Morrison made it all come alive. Now that I have really read the book, I can't remember what I found so difficult about it. Maybe my vocabulary and reading ability have evolved (I seriously hope so or the public school system has a lot to answer too).
The characters were very well thought out and portrayed. Each of the main characters (Sethe, Paul D, and Denver) grow throughout the novel. Morrison took the reader inside their thoughts and let you see their feelings and the reasons for their actions. Nothing was left to guess about. Each character had their own personality and past that shaped their decisions. It was intriguing to see how the events in the past lead them to the point where the story takes place. How these events shape how they each react to Beloved's presence.
Now for some people this will be a difficult read. While I enjoyed how Morrison was able to pact so much into the story, I can also see where it would make it hard for some. There are a lot of different things going on. A good portion of the story is dealt with through flash backs. Sethe, has flashbacks to her time as a slave and her escape. Paul D, has flashbacks to his own enslavement, incarceration, and all the hardship he had to go through. Denver has flashbacks to her lonely painful child. Sometimes it can be hard to figure out since Morrison gives you bits and pieces at a time. But I did enjoy her method, it just made me continue to turn the page.
Another thing that can be hard is the imagery. While Morrison does not go into great detail, the subject matter is harsh. And the things that characters go through are sad and difficult (it is a post slave tale). The decisions that they made at times can be unthinkable to someone not in their position.
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LibraryThing member lilysea
Every person in the United States should be required to read everything Toni Morrison ever wrote, beginning with this book. Perhaps my favorite book by perhaps my favorite writer.
LibraryThing member Karweenie
This story IS based on actual events (Morrison learned of an escaped slave killing her children from an 1850's era newspaper).
However, the novel is incoherent and confusing. Narration flips from character to character with no transition, entire chapters are written in stream-of-consciousness, by
However, the novel is incoherent and confusing. Narration flips from character to character with no transition, entire chapters are written in stream-of-consciousness, by
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the end you're so turned off by the style that you're dismissive of the substance. Very disappointing. Show Less
LibraryThing member bluepigeon
I think it is very interesting that most people have either given this book 5 stars or 1 star.
Toni Morrison's language flows like a river. At times strong, at times slight, never overwhelmed. Dialog among characters is very well done, and just like in real life, sometimes it may not be obvious
To say that it is hard to relate or sympathize with any of the characters in the book is a sign that a) you are very easily offended by historical facts and human nature, or b) you are ignorant of what might happen to humans or what they will be capable of doing under extremely harsh conditions (i.e. slavery, not being allowed to have sex with anyone for 20 years, rape, abuse, etc), or c) you have not really read the book. Yes, what the characters in the book do during and after their life as slaves might not be wonderful. Yes, they did not crawl under a tree and cry themselves to insanity (well, not all of them, at least,) some survived, some had sex with barn animals, some were forced into sex as well as into labor, some found love, some escaped, some murdered... The list is long, though a much much longer list can be assembled of the things slave owners did to their slaves, even the nicest ones who "listened to what they had to say."
The book and the story does a very good job of telling life how it is (I do not mean "telling life how is WAS." I do not know much about the history of slavery or the lives of slaves and ex-slaves, nor do I know how accurate the depictions in the book are of that time in America. I know enough to be able to judge that it is not too far from reality in general.) How some crimes that seem unimaginable are entirely possible given the right life, right personality, right time (or lack there of.) How not all "coloreds" agree on moral and ethical actions and judgments, and how in that regard, they are very much like "whitefolks." How being a mother means something entirely different to one woman compared to another, though it is so easy to pass judgment when one is not in the particular situation. How one charismatic person can bring together a whole community out of scraps of humans trying to outlive their past, and how a single act of violence can change a whole community. In this regard, though the book is "about" slavery and ex-slaves, it could be about any group of people who have had a harsh, unmerciful life trying to make sense of what's left. Dysfunctions arise in such a community, or in any family within that community exist in every community, but perhaps the reasons and how they come about are different.
Yet the book has hope to offer in the end. Hope that some will rise from this broken community, from the dysfunction, put together what they have learned from their grandmothers and mothers and sisters and even strange men, find work, find things to want, a life to desire... Hope that some will learn not to have to think of each day as a fight to keep the past at bay, but a day to be lived to build a future. As some other things in the book, this hope is not surging, in-your-face kind of hope, but a slow, steady trickle in the end that leaves you imagining how, from there, we got here. And how much more we have to go...
Toni Morrison's language flows like a river. At times strong, at times slight, never overwhelmed. Dialog among characters is very well done, and just like in real life, sometimes it may not be obvious
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what's going on. In fact, this is perhaps one of the most interesting things Morrison does in Beloved. As readers, we visit the thoughts and stories of many characters, and in a way, we have privy to understanding their reasons. So when someone does a certain thing, it seems unbelievable almost that other people do not understand why, because we do. At a certain point in the book, the story actually develops to reveal a misunderstanding and the characters realize it and go on to rectify what they have done. But at another point, again, just like in real life, misunderstandings remain mysteries, remain prejudices, assumptions, opinions born out of a hunch. This becomes one of the drivers in the story, especially in a story dealing with ex-slaves who don't speak much about their feelings or thoughts, perhaps because they are not supposed to have any.To say that it is hard to relate or sympathize with any of the characters in the book is a sign that a) you are very easily offended by historical facts and human nature, or b) you are ignorant of what might happen to humans or what they will be capable of doing under extremely harsh conditions (i.e. slavery, not being allowed to have sex with anyone for 20 years, rape, abuse, etc), or c) you have not really read the book. Yes, what the characters in the book do during and after their life as slaves might not be wonderful. Yes, they did not crawl under a tree and cry themselves to insanity (well, not all of them, at least,) some survived, some had sex with barn animals, some were forced into sex as well as into labor, some found love, some escaped, some murdered... The list is long, though a much much longer list can be assembled of the things slave owners did to their slaves, even the nicest ones who "listened to what they had to say."
The book and the story does a very good job of telling life how it is (I do not mean "telling life how is WAS." I do not know much about the history of slavery or the lives of slaves and ex-slaves, nor do I know how accurate the depictions in the book are of that time in America. I know enough to be able to judge that it is not too far from reality in general.) How some crimes that seem unimaginable are entirely possible given the right life, right personality, right time (or lack there of.) How not all "coloreds" agree on moral and ethical actions and judgments, and how in that regard, they are very much like "whitefolks." How being a mother means something entirely different to one woman compared to another, though it is so easy to pass judgment when one is not in the particular situation. How one charismatic person can bring together a whole community out of scraps of humans trying to outlive their past, and how a single act of violence can change a whole community. In this regard, though the book is "about" slavery and ex-slaves, it could be about any group of people who have had a harsh, unmerciful life trying to make sense of what's left. Dysfunctions arise in such a community, or in any family within that community exist in every community, but perhaps the reasons and how they come about are different.
Yet the book has hope to offer in the end. Hope that some will rise from this broken community, from the dysfunction, put together what they have learned from their grandmothers and mothers and sisters and even strange men, find work, find things to want, a life to desire... Hope that some will learn not to have to think of each day as a fight to keep the past at bay, but a day to be lived to build a future. As some other things in the book, this hope is not surging, in-your-face kind of hope, but a slow, steady trickle in the end that leaves you imagining how, from there, we got here. And how much more we have to go...
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LibraryThing member thorold
With Beloved, Morrison continues the tightening of the focus in time and space that she was experimenting with in Tar Baby — we're down to a time-span of a single generation, straddling the American Civil War, whilst the migration from South to North is condensed to crossing the Ohio River,
As ever, the theme is the enduring damage done by slavery and racism, but here we are focussing on the people who were its direct victims, rather than on their descendants two or three generations down. And Morrison keeps a step ahead of potential critics by making Sweet Home a model farm, run by people who consider themselves liberal and enlightened. Mr Garfield claims that his slaves are the only black "men" in Kentucky (all others are "boys", of course); he teaches them to shoot and allows them to learn to read and write if they wish, and even allows Halle to hire himself out in his spare time to earn his mother's freedom. But of course it is neither "Sweet" nor "Home", and Garfield's social experiments do nothing to cancel out the horrible, dehumanising effect of the condition of slavery itself, least of all when he dies and leaves the slaves at the mercy of a less enlightened successor. Once she has got herself and her children away across the river at huge risk, Sethe will go to any lengths to prevent the children being taken back to Sweet Home.
This is a tougher book than Morrison's earlier novels, strong, tight, taking absolutely no prisoners, and giving us less chance to relax over social comedy and the eccentricities of the communities it is set in, but it must surely count as her best up to that point.
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between slavery on Sweet Home farm in Kentucky and freedom in Cincinnati. With a plot that draws loosely on the Medea story, she creates a level of emotional intensity that feels almost like the unity of time and space of Greek tragedy. As ever, the theme is the enduring damage done by slavery and racism, but here we are focussing on the people who were its direct victims, rather than on their descendants two or three generations down. And Morrison keeps a step ahead of potential critics by making Sweet Home a model farm, run by people who consider themselves liberal and enlightened. Mr Garfield claims that his slaves are the only black "men" in Kentucky (all others are "boys", of course); he teaches them to shoot and allows them to learn to read and write if they wish, and even allows Halle to hire himself out in his spare time to earn his mother's freedom. But of course it is neither "Sweet" nor "Home", and Garfield's social experiments do nothing to cancel out the horrible, dehumanising effect of the condition of slavery itself, least of all when he dies and leaves the slaves at the mercy of a less enlightened successor. Once she has got herself and her children away across the river at huge risk, Sethe will go to any lengths to prevent the children being taken back to Sweet Home.
This is a tougher book than Morrison's earlier novels, strong, tight, taking absolutely no prisoners, and giving us less chance to relax over social comedy and the eccentricities of the communities it is set in, but it must surely count as her best up to that point.
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LibraryThing member stuart10er
Draining and wonderful.
I wish I could give it high marks for the writing, which was amazing and splended, vivid and lyrical, and lower marks for how staggeringly depressing and draining it was to read.
Slavery is awful, soul-desroying, for everyone involved and like some kind of old testament
So - this book is awful in the best possible way. What would you rate that? An exploration of all the terrible things that slavery does to all involved and to their children and their children's children. Painful.
I wish I could give it high marks for the writing, which was amazing and splended, vivid and lyrical, and lower marks for how staggeringly depressing and draining it was to read.
Slavery is awful, soul-desroying, for everyone involved and like some kind of old testament
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punishment curses us unto the seventh generation with its poison. Just awful and terrible.So - this book is awful in the best possible way. What would you rate that? An exploration of all the terrible things that slavery does to all involved and to their children and their children's children. Painful.
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LibraryThing member santhony
This Pulitzer Prize winning novel is certainly not the kind of book I would ordinarily take on. Written by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, it can be a chore at times, but nevertheless was surprisingly able to keep my attention throughout.
The setting is immediate post Civil War Ohio, with numerous
After the war, she lives in an old two story home that is actively haunted by the spirit of her dead daughter, Beloved. The haunting has led her two sons to flee, but her daughter Denver remains. She is joined by one of the men from Sweet Home; then a mysterious, young stranger appears, named Beloved. It is clearly the physical manifestation of her long dead daughter.
As you would expect from a novel written by a Nobel Laureate, the prose is florid and rich with imagery and symbolism. There are brief periods of stream of consciousness narrative that were incomprehensible to me. Nevertheless, the story is intriguing and much of the history is very powerful and compelling. I took on the novel with somewhat low expectations (not of the book, but for my capacity to appreciate it) but emerged very pleasantly surprised.
The setting is immediate post Civil War Ohio, with numerous
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flashbacks and remembrances from the period preceding the War. Sethe, the main character, was a slave at the Kentucky Sweet Home plantation. She escaped with her children (three, with one in the oven) in a harrowing adventure, giving birth along the way. She is ultimately tracked down and due to the Dred Scott decision faces repatriation with her family. In response, she murders her oldest daughter rather than see her subjected to slavery, but is stopped before she can complete her plan to kill herself and all her children.After the war, she lives in an old two story home that is actively haunted by the spirit of her dead daughter, Beloved. The haunting has led her two sons to flee, but her daughter Denver remains. She is joined by one of the men from Sweet Home; then a mysterious, young stranger appears, named Beloved. It is clearly the physical manifestation of her long dead daughter.
As you would expect from a novel written by a Nobel Laureate, the prose is florid and rich with imagery and symbolism. There are brief periods of stream of consciousness narrative that were incomprehensible to me. Nevertheless, the story is intriguing and much of the history is very powerful and compelling. I took on the novel with somewhat low expectations (not of the book, but for my capacity to appreciate it) but emerged very pleasantly surprised.
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LibraryThing member surreality
Plot: A central plot, with subplots tied to it that add the events from the past. Confusing at times since the subplots are not chronological and the point of view shifts regularly. The pieces don't quite fit together, which adds confusion that may or may not be intentional, but is distracting
Characters: Great characterization for some characters, while others fall flat. I found it impossible to find anyone to sympathize with - the ones who suffer are apathetic and uninteresting, while the interesting ones are side characters with not much attention paid to them.
Style: Half of the book is a great narrative, the other half is terribly overwritten. The narrative half packs a punch with its themes and the way they're dealt with. Streamlined, just the right amount of description and beautiful language. The other half reads as though Morrison decided that it's time literature happens instead of just a story, and stuffed in every technique known to mankind. There are moments when it turns poetic, but then comes so much symbolism that all joy goes out of reading.
Plus: It's an interesting ride.
Minus: It's a book that wants to be something greater, and tries too hard.
Summary: High quality, but it failed to leave any lasting impression or make me feel involved.
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nonetheless. Good set-up but a disappointing ending that doesn't resolve anything. Characters: Great characterization for some characters, while others fall flat. I found it impossible to find anyone to sympathize with - the ones who suffer are apathetic and uninteresting, while the interesting ones are side characters with not much attention paid to them.
Style: Half of the book is a great narrative, the other half is terribly overwritten. The narrative half packs a punch with its themes and the way they're dealt with. Streamlined, just the right amount of description and beautiful language. The other half reads as though Morrison decided that it's time literature happens instead of just a story, and stuffed in every technique known to mankind. There are moments when it turns poetic, but then comes so much symbolism that all joy goes out of reading.
Plus: It's an interesting ride.
Minus: It's a book that wants to be something greater, and tries too hard.
Summary: High quality, but it failed to leave any lasting impression or make me feel involved.
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LibraryThing member gbill
Certainly worth reading, but not for the squeamish, and muddled at times.
Quotes:
On hell:
"...suddenly there was Sweet Home rolling, rolling, rolling out before her eyes, and although there was not a leaf on that farm that did not make her want to scream, it rolled itself out before her in shameless
On the past:
"To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay. The 'better life' she believed she and Denver were living was simply not that other one."
On cooking:
"The cabbage was all gone and the shiny ankle bones of smoked pork were pushed in a heap on their plates. Sethe was dishing up bread pudding, murmuring her hopes for it, apologizing in advance the way veteran cooks always do."
On feelings:
"Hey! Hey! Listen up. Let me tell you something. A man ain't a goddamn ax. Chopping, hacking, busting ever goddamn minute of the day. Things get to him. Things he can't chop down because they're inside."
On religion:
"She did not tell them to clean up their lives or to go and sin no more. She did not tell them they were the blessed of the earth, its inheriting meek or its glorybound pure.
She told them that the only grace they could have was the grace they could imagine. That if they could not see it, they would not have it."
On white people:
"Those white things have taken all I had or dreamed," she said, "and broke my heartstrings too. There is no bad luck in the world worse but whitefolks."
"He simply looked at the face, shaking his head no. No. At the mouth, you see. And no at whatever it was those black scratches said, and no to whatever it was Stamp Paid wanted him to know. Because there was no way in hell a black face could appear in a newspaper if the story was about something anybody wanted to hear. A whip of fear broke through the heart chambers as soon as you saw a Negro's face in a paper, since the face was not there because the person had a healthy baby, or outran a street mob. Nor was it there because the person had been killed, or maimed or caught or burned or jailed or whipped or evicted or stomped or raped or cheated, since that could hardly qualify as news in a newspaper. It would have to be something out of the ordinary - something whitepeople would find interesting, truly different..."
"Eighten seventy-four and whitefolks were still on the loose. Whole towns wiped clean of Negroes; eighty-seven lynchings in one year alone in Kentucky; four colored schools burned to the ground; grown men whipped like children; children whipped like adults; black women raped by the crew; property taken, necks broken. He smelled skin, skin and hot blood. The skin was one thing, but human blood cooked in a lynch fire was a whole other thing. The stench stank."
On slavery:
"He wasn't surprised to learn that they had tracked her down in Cincinnati, because, when he thought about it now, her price was greater than his; property that reproduced itself without cost."
"Cogitation, as she called it, clouded things and prevented action. Nobody loved her and she wouldn't have liked it if they had, for she considered love a serious disability. Her puberty was spent in a house where she was shared by father and son, whom she called ' the lowest yet.' It was the 'lowest yet' who gave her a disgust for sex and against whom she measured all atrocities."
On love, slavery, and motherhood:
"Risy, thought Paul D, very risky. For a used-to-be slave woman to love anything that much was dangerous, especially if it was her children she had settled on to love. The best thing, he knew, was to love just a little bit; everything, just a little bit, so when they broke its back, or shoved it in a croaker sack, well, maybe you'd have a little love left over for the next one. 'Why?' he asked her. 'Why you think you have to take up for her? Apologize for her? She's grown.'
'I don't care what she is. Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that supposed to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing.'"
On women:
"...like the interior sounds a woman makes when she believes she is alone and unobserved at her work: a sth when she misses the eye's needle; a soft moan she sees another chip in her one good platter; the low, friendly argument with which she greets the hens. Nothing fierce or startling. Just that eternal, private conversation that takes place between women and their tasks."
Quotes:
On hell:
"...suddenly there was Sweet Home rolling, rolling, rolling out before her eyes, and although there was not a leaf on that farm that did not make her want to scream, it rolled itself out before her in shameless
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beauty. It never looked as terrible as it was and it made her wonder if hell was a pretty place too."On the past:
"To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay. The 'better life' she believed she and Denver were living was simply not that other one."
On cooking:
"The cabbage was all gone and the shiny ankle bones of smoked pork were pushed in a heap on their plates. Sethe was dishing up bread pudding, murmuring her hopes for it, apologizing in advance the way veteran cooks always do."
On feelings:
"Hey! Hey! Listen up. Let me tell you something. A man ain't a goddamn ax. Chopping, hacking, busting ever goddamn minute of the day. Things get to him. Things he can't chop down because they're inside."
On religion:
"She did not tell them to clean up their lives or to go and sin no more. She did not tell them they were the blessed of the earth, its inheriting meek or its glorybound pure.
She told them that the only grace they could have was the grace they could imagine. That if they could not see it, they would not have it."
On white people:
"Those white things have taken all I had or dreamed," she said, "and broke my heartstrings too. There is no bad luck in the world worse but whitefolks."
"He simply looked at the face, shaking his head no. No. At the mouth, you see. And no at whatever it was those black scratches said, and no to whatever it was Stamp Paid wanted him to know. Because there was no way in hell a black face could appear in a newspaper if the story was about something anybody wanted to hear. A whip of fear broke through the heart chambers as soon as you saw a Negro's face in a paper, since the face was not there because the person had a healthy baby, or outran a street mob. Nor was it there because the person had been killed, or maimed or caught or burned or jailed or whipped or evicted or stomped or raped or cheated, since that could hardly qualify as news in a newspaper. It would have to be something out of the ordinary - something whitepeople would find interesting, truly different..."
"Eighten seventy-four and whitefolks were still on the loose. Whole towns wiped clean of Negroes; eighty-seven lynchings in one year alone in Kentucky; four colored schools burned to the ground; grown men whipped like children; children whipped like adults; black women raped by the crew; property taken, necks broken. He smelled skin, skin and hot blood. The skin was one thing, but human blood cooked in a lynch fire was a whole other thing. The stench stank."
On slavery:
"He wasn't surprised to learn that they had tracked her down in Cincinnati, because, when he thought about it now, her price was greater than his; property that reproduced itself without cost."
"Cogitation, as she called it, clouded things and prevented action. Nobody loved her and she wouldn't have liked it if they had, for she considered love a serious disability. Her puberty was spent in a house where she was shared by father and son, whom she called ' the lowest yet.' It was the 'lowest yet' who gave her a disgust for sex and against whom she measured all atrocities."
On love, slavery, and motherhood:
"Risy, thought Paul D, very risky. For a used-to-be slave woman to love anything that much was dangerous, especially if it was her children she had settled on to love. The best thing, he knew, was to love just a little bit; everything, just a little bit, so when they broke its back, or shoved it in a croaker sack, well, maybe you'd have a little love left over for the next one. 'Why?' he asked her. 'Why you think you have to take up for her? Apologize for her? She's grown.'
'I don't care what she is. Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that supposed to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing.'"
On women:
"...like the interior sounds a woman makes when she believes she is alone and unobserved at her work: a sth when she misses the eye's needle; a soft moan she sees another chip in her one good platter; the low, friendly argument with which she greets the hens. Nothing fierce or startling. Just that eternal, private conversation that takes place between women and their tasks."
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LibraryThing member nevusmom
Lots of leaping around in this book, which made it somewhat hard to follow. Other reviewers have given thorough synopsis, so I won't. I got it at a yard sale. I'm glad I didn't pay full price for it.
LibraryThing member marcfitch
I'm sure that I will be hated for this.. but I found Beloved to be overwrought, inaccessible and frankly boring. I find it amazing that this book became such a commercial success receiving public praise as well as critical praise because I think that if this was written by someone other than Toni
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Morrison and hadn't been endorsed by Oprah, it would have never seen the light of day. Show Less
LibraryThing member janeajones
I've just finished reading "Beloved" for the fourth or fifth time, and I'm sure it won't be the last time. This is THE great American novel. No one has confronted the terrors of slavery and the toll that both slavery and prejudice have taken on individuals and on our country as fully or as bravely
If you are an American, and you have not read this book, shame on you. And what a treat you have in store for you if you dare to pick it up and engage with Morrison's vision.
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as Morrison has. And I doubt that anyone else has the poetic gifts that she brings to her writing to make us see what has been done and what needs to be done.If you are an American, and you have not read this book, shame on you. And what a treat you have in store for you if you dare to pick it up and engage with Morrison's vision.
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LibraryThing member NeedMoreShelves
This is just a hard book, in all aspects. It's a challenging read, both thematically and textually. It's hard to define - what genre would you even call this brutal, magical, lyrical novel? It's almost too difficult to rate - did I enjoy reading this? No, not particularly. Do I understand that it
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is a masterful work of fiction? Absolutely. This feels like the type of novel that I wish I could have read in a college classroom, with a lively discussion to follow. Definitely a memorable read. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stevil2003
I was surprised and delighted to see that this novel-- the third by Morrison that I've read-- takes place in Cincinnati (though on a nonexistent street). It's not often that I get to read fiction set in my hometown. I think I liked this more than Song of Solomon and less than The Bluest Eye, for
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what it's worth. Morrison is one of those writers you can't speed-read, because you just end up being lost, but that's more of a slight against me than it is her. The story of Sethe and those around her attempting to expunge the ghost of slavery from their lives is a powerful one, and one that engenders mixed emotions: they must not forget the past, indeed "rememory" is central to the novel, but the past is an unkind spirit, one than can trap people and drain their health. The end of the book is ambiguous-- have they really won by forgetting Beloved? I think they've lost something, something important, but it's something they had to lose if they were to go on with their lives. Beloved is Morrison's memorial to the victims of American slavery, since no official memorial exists, but the novel itself suggests that we might be better off without such a memorial, as it would cause more problems than it would solve; we need to forget to heal. Is that why there is no slavery memorial? Will there ever be one? Show Less
LibraryThing member TShirey
The book begins with the quote: “124 was spiteful,” and I was immediately hooked by its chilling, supernatural content. As the book progressed, I was moved, shocked and repulsed by the atrocities graphically presented by Morrison. The author’s language, symbolism, imagery, and
I generally do not think this book fits the bill of YA literature. Morrison’s style of writing in this book is extremely complex. The themes, use of symbolism and sections of stream-of-consciousness alone would be difficult for a high school-aged reader to grasp. The chapters are lengthy, and the plot is, at times, a little slow. It does not have the quick pacing of a YA novel. The graphic scenes are disturbing (which may appeal to younger audiences), but I do not think a high school-aged reader would be as affected as I was – the story’s power relies on the experiences of the reader and the ability of that reader to really identify with the characters. Advanced YA readers may be able to read the book and get something out of it (they may see a bit of themselves in Denver and understand the thick writing), but generally I feel it is more suited for older audiences.
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straightforwardness of plot are deliberate, and her writing left me thinking about the book long after I closed the pages. As a female, and especially as a mother, I was haunted by this book. It was one of the most forceful and poignant books I have ever read. With all the emotion it stirred in me, I can honestly say it is one of my favorites I generally do not think this book fits the bill of YA literature. Morrison’s style of writing in this book is extremely complex. The themes, use of symbolism and sections of stream-of-consciousness alone would be difficult for a high school-aged reader to grasp. The chapters are lengthy, and the plot is, at times, a little slow. It does not have the quick pacing of a YA novel. The graphic scenes are disturbing (which may appeal to younger audiences), but I do not think a high school-aged reader would be as affected as I was – the story’s power relies on the experiences of the reader and the ability of that reader to really identify with the characters. Advanced YA readers may be able to read the book and get something out of it (they may see a bit of themselves in Denver and understand the thick writing), but generally I feel it is more suited for older audiences.
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LibraryThing member DubaiReader
Too obtuse.
I really struggled to finish this book, it just seemed unnecessarily complicated. I read it for a book group and managed to get the gist of most of the book through the discussion, but if I'd been reading it alone I would almost certainly have abandoned it.
I suppose you'd call it a ghost
Meanwhile the story recounts the events that lead up to the family occupying the house. They were originally slaves and the experiences they have had are, at times, quite traumatic. Unfortunately I was not always quite sure exactly what was going on, where the baby was born, what happened to her father etc.
I was sorry that this book was not more readable as the problems encountered when given their freedom are every bit as interesting as the struggles of the slaves while in captivity. I would have liked to have enjoyed this and learned from it.
I had previously read Sula by this author and only rated it 2*. I doubt I shall read any more Toni Morrison.
I really struggled to finish this book, it just seemed unnecessarily complicated. I read it for a book group and managed to get the gist of most of the book through the discussion, but if I'd been reading it alone I would almost certainly have abandoned it.
I suppose you'd call it a ghost
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story as Beloved died as a baby. She lives as a spirit in the house occupied by her mother, grandmother, brothers and sister. When the boys leave and the grandmother dies, we are left with just Beloved, her mother and sister. Beloved's presence becomes more and more real as time passes, until we are led to believe that she is actually living in the house.Meanwhile the story recounts the events that lead up to the family occupying the house. They were originally slaves and the experiences they have had are, at times, quite traumatic. Unfortunately I was not always quite sure exactly what was going on, where the baby was born, what happened to her father etc.
I was sorry that this book was not more readable as the problems encountered when given their freedom are every bit as interesting as the struggles of the slaves while in captivity. I would have liked to have enjoyed this and learned from it.
I had previously read Sula by this author and only rated it 2*. I doubt I shall read any more Toni Morrison.
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LibraryThing member fleurdiabolique
This has a lot of potential to be a great story, but Morrison tries FAR too hard to give it all some sort of "deeper meaning," and so ultimately a lot of it just comes off as vaguely pretentious. Just write the story, Ms. Morrison. The meaningfulness will come without your trying to force
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profundity into every letter. Show Less
LibraryThing member OracleOfCrows
As with most of Toni Morrison's books, this one will pull you in within the first few pages. A mother is haunted by her child, but finds herself comforted by this. Many complex themes; death, grief, slavery, make this one of Morrison's best books. Full of fantastic imagery and beautifully written
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prose. I'd recommend this to everyone. Show Less
LibraryThing member murraymint11
Reminiscent of ‘Roots’ and ‘The Color Purple’, I found the language dense and fairly challenging at first; I had to concentrate while reading throughout the book, and sometimes had to read a sentence twice over (which I actually didn’t mind).
I liked the way the author gave out the
I liked the way the author gave out the
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background story in tiny snippets. I found it an often harrowing tale, and somewhat shocking in that a lot of the trauma described so vividly in the book happened after the abolition of slavery. Show Less
LibraryThing member rbtwinky
I had a hard time getting into this novel. The line between realism and the fantastic was very blurry, which I struggled with. I also had difficulty relating to the characters, perhaps in part to their on-again-off-again realism.
LibraryThing member Castlelass
Set in 1873, Sethe, an emancipated slave, is living with her mother, Baby Suggs, and daughter, Denver. Her deceased baby girl, known as Beloved, becomes the embodiment of her tormented past. The story flashes back to Sethe’s time as a slave, the traumas she endured, and the resulting inability to
Morrison examines both physical and psychological suffering, particularly in women, and the role that shared stories can perform in healing. It is dark and sad. It explores the concept that death is better than a life in slavery. As expected in this type of narrative, it contains a great deal of violence and brutality, which are disturbing and difficult to read. It is written in Morrison’s poetic writing style and offers a glimmer of hope at the end. I can see why it is considered a modern classic.
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feel a mother’s love for her children. It is a story of identity, class, and oppression. Morrison examines both physical and psychological suffering, particularly in women, and the role that shared stories can perform in healing. It is dark and sad. It explores the concept that death is better than a life in slavery. As expected in this type of narrative, it contains a great deal of violence and brutality, which are disturbing and difficult to read. It is written in Morrison’s poetic writing style and offers a glimmer of hope at the end. I can see why it is considered a modern classic.
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LibraryThing member drivingsideways
Tragedy and lyricism go hand in hand in this extraordinary tale of Sethe and her dead daughter "Beloved". One of the most moving books I've ever read.
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