Rating: 
Summary: Oiy Vey!
Review: This was the first time Morrison tried to deal with contemporary life (the second time was Paradise) and she fails, miserably. Insted of offering an intelligent critique of consumer culture, Morrison contrasts consumer culture (here identified, in all forms, as "white" and Eurocentric) against a mythical blackness, represented by the character Son and his podunk hometown, Eloe. Son escapes some ship and hides in the house of a wealthy white couple, who just happen to have paid for a young black model to go to the Sorbonne. Morrison carefully sets her stage: on one side, Jade (the model) who is as white as snow because she rejects her black heritage and is grateful that the white couple paid for her schooling; and on the other side is Son and mystical ghosts who visit him, or some nonsuch. Naturally, this being a Morrison novel, neither side wins, but the white people get a good spanking when Morrison reveals that the wife used to abuse her son and the man is more interest in classical music than his family. This couple was written about more memorably, many times over, by Edward Albee in VIRGINIA WOOLF. Is this the best critique Morrison has to offer? Against consumer culture she posits, what, ghosts? Myth? Myth is the very tool of capitalism. Again, Morrison has failed to show how real black people actually live (watching television and reading the paper, not listening to ghosts; living in multi-racial communities, not conveniently isolated all-black ones)in order to make some sort of point about the importance of not forgetting your heritage. When given the choice between two polar opposites -- mythic blackness or false whiteness -- why should either Son or Jade choose. Both strategies are complicit with the capitalist culture Morrison tries to undermine.
Rating: 
Summary: Revealing, Redemptive, Raw
Review: In Tar Baby, Morrison explores the various relationshipsAfrican Americans find ourselves engaged in at any given point intime. Tar Baby scrutinizes our relationship to the oppressor and toeach other, parent to child, child to parent, man to woman. In our relationship to the oppessor the novel implies that we are forever wanting and forever in service to. Wanting of acceptance, at times at any cost, while serving him diligently, completely. The desire for acceptance is symbolized, in this reader's opinion, by the novel's title. Was the Jadine character, at her worst, a white woman in black skin? Is her acculturation likened to having poured, like tar, a black coating over the ideals, notions, and behaviors of white women? Is that what happened to Jadine's "ancient properties"? Ondine and Sydny are passive yet powerful characters having lived their lives in servitude to the Streets and Jadine, whose absent "ancient properties" and connection to self, left her confused, unsure of what to make of her of her own people. Like all of Morrison's novels, Tar Baby is filled with symbolism, lending itself to interpretation base on the reader's life experience. Its messages are raw and intense, its characters as knowable as a long time friend. A great group reading novel.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Read
Review: Morrison draws us into the lives of her characters and has the reader wanting to know what is going to happen to them next. Her characters are not exceptional people with exceptional lives. We get to peak in on their lives for only a short period. However, it is a time that proves to be disruptive to the order of things in all their lives. The book illustrates how fragile and tentative are our own life stories. A single incident can quickly change the order of our lives.
Rating: 
Summary: Glad I read it:)
Review: My H.S. Advanced Composition class forced me to read this book, which i normally would not read. I read "Beloved" first, and loved that, so i decided to try "Tar Baby" next. The book was overall a great story, one that kept me interested throughout.....however, i was a bit confused on some aspects. Toni Morrison is very deep...but kudos for her, this was a wonderful depiction of relationships on all aspects.
Rating:
Summary: Not Morrison's Best
Review: After reading Tar Baby I was left a bit confused and not happy in the least. When you read Morrison, there is a certain caliber that one expects to see and this novel is completely lacking. It had an interesting plot but the characters were flat and uninteresting. Issues are brought up but not explored as they could be. Overall, I was not impressed with this novel. As always, there are beautful parts but certainly this is not her best work.
Rating:
Summary: Filled with honest personal struggles
Review: In my opinion, this is not Morrison's best work, but the more I think about it after reading it, the more I like it. It starts off slow, but builds momentum as the story and its characters develop. The characters and their struggles are incredibly realistic, and though many have deemed this book "controversial" Morrison effectively explores the issues of race and class with honesty and integrity. There are many stories within a story here, and I recommend it to anyone willing to wait out a slow beginning.
Rating:
Summary: a different Morrison
Review: Morrison moved outside of the Ohio setting in her novel Tar Baby. She plays on familiar themes of love and identity and sets most of the action in the Caribbean. This is not Morrison's best work in my opinion. It is an interesting novel, but one I didn't have to work so hard to understand. Her reference to the Tar Baby story and its connection to the novel were well paired. I think that this is a wonderful book, an easy read, but having read her previous works, I was a touch disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A Book to be Cherished
Review: As I read some of these reviews, I cannot understand how one could bash such a great novel without truly reading it. Those of you that bashed the book, have nothing to back it up with. That is just common sense, though. This angle that Morrison took with this novel was innovative and creative. This is the first time Morrison has used white characters in a novel, and if you read closely, one could parallel some of Jadine's struggles with Morrison's struggle as a publisher in a predominantly white corporate world. As all of the other novels that I have read by Morrison, this one too has very strong in depth characters, that you could place in any setting and still have an enjoyable time reading it. The character development is exquisite and I recommend this book to anyone that wants a challenging and interesting read.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Nothing can be more torturous than reading some of these reviews! Tar Baby is an amazing book - excellently written! I feel that most people are looking for a quick and easy read, which Tar Baby is not. This book puts the reader into the minds of the characters - not merely superficial thoughts, but deep (and sometimes controversial) feelings.
Rating: 
Summary: Pure Racism
Review: This book is one of the most racist I have ever read. It is obvious that Morrison is primarily motivated by all consuming hatred. This book is one for the trash can.
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