Beloved
Ratings311
Average rating3.9
I read this book in lit class sophomore year of college and was immediate drawn into the story by Sethe and Denver, and the loss that surrounded their lives. [b:Toni Morrison 6149 Beloved Toni Morrison http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165555299s/6149.jpg 736076] is an incredible story-teller, and this work definitely showcases her talent. After reading the book, I read an interview with Ms. Morrison, where she said she got the idea from an article she found while doing research in library archives. There was a small “blurb” about a runaway slave who killed her children in order to prevent her owner from taking her and the children back to the plantation. I was very impressed that Morrison was able to take a 10 sentence article and develop it into a gripping ghost story.
I really did not like this book. The only part I found somewhat interesting was the climax of the book, where Morrison's writing collapses into poetry and grammar/punctuation degrades. This literary style, raw and unadulterated by convention betrays the very institution of slavery. It's incredibly stark and powerful. The fragmented language represents a true descent into the depths of trauma—where individuality is stripped and enduring historical memory surfaces.
I also liked the moments where slavery's history is subtlety alluded to, especially in a euphemistic sense—the true horror lies not in explicitly stated events but in the insidious memories that bleed through the narrative.
At the same time, these fragments make it very hard to understand what is even happening at all. I don't think I really understood any part of this book.
I really disliked reading this tbh. I don't think I learned anything from it and I did not like any of the characters. I wish I'd spent the time reading Frederick Douglass or Uncle Tom's Cabin or something else. Maybe some people find this book enlightening but not me.
Wow! Incredible read. I wondered a few times if this is one of the scariest books I've read. I'm left contemplating this, because it is so much more than a ghost story. Morrison's writing is beautiful and haunting. There are times when I had to re-read passages several times to track what was happening, but not in a way that was unpleasant. It felt intentional and designed.
The book also does some interesting stuff with spacing that I found enjoyable.
Having finished the book just a few minutes ago, I don't know what else I can write about it. It's still banging around in my head. I feel like it will be for a long time. This is one I'll re-read in the future, and I think it will be a rich experience. I may update this review later with more thoughts.
Finally got around to reading a masterpiece by Morrison. What is there to say that hasn't already been said about Beloved?
It's fast, it's brutal. It's emotionally transcendent. Wow.
I think these days we are spoilt with the way novels are presented to us, more often than not, but not always, they tell us who, when, why and what, everything laid out nicely making our journey easy, pleasant and on the whole, very satisfying. This book does none of that and it does it unapologetically. This book shoves you around, pushes your face in the muddy puddle, holds you up against the wall by the throat.......... and then puts it's arm around you and hands you a cup of hot sweet tea.
There is horror here, the worst bits of humanity. Sometimes I had to stop and put the book down. But, there is also kindness, friendship, laughter and moments of great warmth and love.
Did I enjoy this book? I did not, but that's the point. Books that make you feel something, however uncomfortable that might be, deserve a place on the top table when they are as astonishing as this book is.
It's generally an engaging book, but the ending is so underwhelming and sort of felt out of place. Disappointing since most of it is brilliant.
I don't think I have the brain power to really understand the complexities of this book and kinda wish I spent a few months analyzing it in English class like Song of Solomon.
This book should be required reading on every high school curriculum....read it, get a study guide. Do it.
4.5 stars, rounded up. I mean the prose is insanely beautiful. Really captures the trauma of the legacy of slavery. But I mean very hard to read, very depressing. I feel like I am missing out on a lot of the meaning, I could take a class analyzing this book.
This was a fantastic book. I didn't find it as compelling as The Bluest Eye, but it was nonetheless a solid novel. I really liked the characters of Paul D and Denver, and found Beloved to be both incomprehensible and deeply unsettling. The voices of the characters here were vibrant and the commentary on slavery was brutal and heartwrenchimg.
I read this book for school. I personally didn't like it, but at the same time it is not a book I would willingly choose to read on my own.
Download every one of her books she narrated. Even when the subject matter is dangerous and painful, like Beloved, her voice made me feel that warm, safe, storytelling feeling of having my mother or my elementary school librarian read to me as a child—that magic, storytelling feeling.
This is an unsafe ghost story. It will take you places you might not be ready to go, emotionally and historically. This is a reread, and I still feel worn out upon finishing it. But it is also a Great American Novel, and o say that without hyperbole. I was lucky enough to study it at Yale—my first read. Now I simply come to it the second time as a reader. I am enraptured and heart-rendered.
“To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay.”
This will be a short review, not because I have nothing to say about it, but because all of the other 5 star reviews here do a better job than I ever could at summarizing what makes this such a good read. It is a hard read and a dense read, and I will freely admit to anyone who asks that I very nearly DNF'd this book early on because I wasn't sure I was understanding it. My only advice for anyone who tries this book out is to stick with it. It starts making a small bit of sense, then a larger bit of sense, and then suddenly pieces start falling together and you're now seeing why this book is so highly regarded. It was a very weird, very satisfying feeling.
All I'll say about this book is that it's creepy and powerful and contemplative. It bounces the point of view around a lot, and sometimes you're in the past and sometimes you're not. All I can say is that notes are helpful.
This is a book that deserves a re-read.
In Beloved, Toni Morrison combines the reality of slavery, escape, and dealing with the trauma it brings with it, with magical realism. Her writing is rich with metaphors and vivid imagery that helps with the heavy and dark content. She portrays the truth in a way that is brutally honest, confronting you with people who do unspeakable things and witnessing such things. It's about how such terrible experiences can shape and change your life. How the memory of them will never fade and how they will continue to affect your life and decisions. It's about how terrible things can happen to you and how you can do terrible things as a result. It's a powerful reminder of the lasting and damaging effects of traumatic events and the strength it takes to confront them.
Personally, the awful events and descriptions in this novel were a bit too much for me, making it rather difficult for me to finish this book.
Woah. This one is going to stay with me for a long time.
BELOVED is the first book of Toni Morrison's that I've read. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by the author. Listening to her words transported me into Sethe's life. This narrative about the heartbreaking brutality of slavery and the universal love of a parent was gut wrenching.
The poetic prose of the multiple perspective storytelling revealed the haunting layers of this deeply powerful novel.
A story that everyone should read.
aleticiale #tonimorisson #aleticiale2020 Toni ganhou o nobel de literatura e é considerada um ícone norte americano. Esse livro é cheio de muita dor, tristeza e preconceito, além de pura maldade. Achei difícil, por tudo isso, e belo, por tudo isso. A narrativa não é linear e os personagens muito doídos, mas persistindo chegamos a um retrato muito pungente da época, das pessoas e da escravidão.
Not a read to rush through. Deep, heart wrenching and eye opening. Take the time to read and really digest this one. If you enjoy audio, the author reads this one and has a fantastic voice.
Haunting, this book is unlike anything else I've ever read. Some parts are confusing and disjointed, you may feel frustrated and lost. That's part of the point. Keep going. You have to keep going, even when nothing makes sense and you can't see your way.
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 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.
I recognize that this is an important work and powerfully written. I have really struggled with this book. I felt depressed, drained, and hopeless while reading it. I know that is part of it's importance -to convey the terrible life and trials slaves endured. I did not enjoy the book and I have no intention of revisiting it.