Rating: 
Summary: First one I ever Finished
Review: Yes, this is the first Toni Morrison book I ever read all the way through. I still have to say I was not impressed.
Rating: 
Summary: Well I finished it, but...
Review: The description for this book is completely misleading...when I ordered it I was looking forward to reading a book about a captivating man that drew a group of women into a complex love story. But you know what this book was really about? "Love" is a story of spite. Vengeance. Or rather, the bitter aftertaste of love no more. However, I couldn't rate this 1 star because I did finish the book. I think what kept me going through the book was the character Junior. She was controversial, repugnant in many ways, but she was the only woman not consumed by bitterness, and for that reason alone she appeared almost normal. The reason I couldn't relate to the other hateful female characters is that their animosity doesn't seem explained. The character Bill Cosey is not developed enough to really understand how he deeply impacted so many women. I do believe that Toni Morrison has a gift for writing, but it is not with writing novels...she should redirect her talents towards poetry. She has a lot of disconnected yet evocative images, which can often be more effective in a well-crafted poem that can withstand a heavier load of abstraction. As it is, she often rambled on tangents that I couldn't follow, and eventually, I would skim her chapters of italics because I lost interest when she tried to be too artistic or philosophical.
Rating: 
Summary: pure gold from Morrison
Review: Toni Morrison's fans can rest assured that she has written a knockout story about the relationships between women throughout the decades. Junior (Call me June) Viviane is applying for a job advertised at a house where no one comes or goes. Two women --- Heed and Christine -- who are related in a very convoluted way live there, and they hate each other fiercely. The story of how they have come to be in this situation unfolds in a fascinating manner that pulls the reader in immediately. June has her own agenda as well, and cares not for the two owmen who are at each other's throats. This is like reading a mystery while enjoying Morrison's wonderful prose and character development. It's a must-read!
Rating:
Summary: Bitterly, bitterly ironic
Review: Morrison is one of my favorite writers and I have taught her work before in college. She is not one to hold back a punch, and her work forces readers to stare much of the horrifying ugliness of humanity in the face. I respect that. But I have qualms with Morrison's new novel. The book is certainly masterfully written, and there is no doubt whatsoever that Morrison is a genius. Without giving away details, Morrison plays on familiar themes here, but the social and artistic necessity of facing ugly truth (as in "Beloved," for example) is missing. The ugliness feels like something I as reader should be merely entertained by, and that's the most disturbing thing about it. This is one of the bitterest, ugliest novels I've read in some time. Take all of this as a high recommendation or a low one. That depends on you. Just be prepared.
Rating: 
Summary: inquiry?
Review: I can't find another route to ask this question! I wrote a review of Morrison's love (about a week ago, I think), but it never appeared, aand I'm wondering why! Thanks-
Rating:
Summary: Love, Love, Love
Review: This was the first title by Toni Morrison that I have ever read. The book was well written, but at times confusing. The ending of the book shows two friends coming together through LOVE. I believe the book if read slowly can be very enjoyable
Rating:
Summary: Not really sure..
Review: what to make of this book. Very good story, but hard to follow at times. Not the ending I thought it would be. A wonderful read all in all!
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing like a Morrison to make you think
Review: Such a fine line exists between love and hate, and from the start of this newest Morrison tome, we know hate, envy, jealousy, greed, dementia, all synonymous with the deviations of love, or love that shows tints of more than the ideal. No orange blossoms and happily ever after here. More like the realisms of those who "love" a man who is more or less lovable. A man with shades of all the heroic characteristics of tragedies of the Greeks and on and on. A man with feet of clay. A rather mad persona meets the reader head on in the italicized words of mysterious recollection, the words of L. And who is this ancient voice, a survivor like in the jibberish of "The Bluest Eye", a woman or a man, or does it matter? Each layer of life surrounding the material leavings of Bill Cosey and his once sumptuous sea side palace reeks of decay and greed, of elderly rivalry for that which remains of a vibrant life for vacationing blacks who were segregated from white extravagances. For with Cosey's hotel and its surroundings, the segregated blacks found solace and society and full out fun, separate and above what was denied them by the white world. But once civil rights began to make appreciable inroads for them, the blacks no longer needed Cosey's world and it all too soon began a decline that would lead to its end. Cosey's women, wives, daughters, step-daughters, servants, all vied for his endorsement, and finally for his hidden wealth. And it is their battle for his "things" after his death that both drive them apart and bring them together in violent plotting and insane disassembling. The reader comes to realize that even with their intense hatred of one another, there is an old love from childhood that glues the rivals to one another. And only in death is the struggle relieved. Cosey may be the center of a female tirade, but his death doesn't end his domination of them. The psychosis of love is truly defined in this character study of Morrison's. Brava!
Rating:
Summary: Paradise, Beloved, Jazz, Love: Morrison's World View Soars
Review: Toni Morrison's latest single word title has complex characters, fascinating situations, and home truths packaged neatly in a 202 page novel. Not lyrical like Jazz, my favorite spoken novel, Love tells the story of a larger than life man and his effect on various women in his life. The strength and failing of the novel is that it is not mystical like Beloved - just hard reality. This is not a novel for folks who don't like Morrison's style, or people who want to escape into a light weight quick read. This marvelous experience held my attention as I read slowly through it. I found myself wondering what twists would arise, and found just enough of them to be reassured this book is exactly representative of Morrison's work. What should a reader expect? Classic Morrison with an evolution to the present day. Cosey, the character whose influence effects and affects everyone in the book, has the kind of presence even when offstage that makes the reader sympathetic to the machinations of the various women as they struggle for their place in his life and the book. One can easily understand the role of Celestial, a mystical figure who ties this work to Morrison's preceeding novels. Did I enjoy it? I did. Would I recommend it? Yes. Would I buy it? Yes, it is a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, a Toni Morrison novel I could finish....
Review: I am not a Toni Morrison fan. I have tried to read five of her previous books on several occasions and I was never able to get beyond the first 50 pages of any of them. I enjoy an elightening and challenging read as much as the next person, but reading her novels require entirely too much work. I read "Love" because the host of my book club selected it. Since I want to participate in the discussion, I forced myself to read all of it. The fact that it was only 200 pages helped alot. I must say that I am happy that I finished the book. I thought it was a good, although disturbing, story with vivid, memorable characters. This is something that will stay with me for a while. It will definitely spark some intense discussion. However, this book did not convert me. I went through 3/4 of the book not knowing how the main women characters were related to each other and without understanding the source of the intense hatred between them. By the time this was revealed and (almost)everything was tied together, I was already too "beaten down" to care. The ending was a let-down and did not provide closure. I would have enjoyed the book much better if I did not have to jump through so many hoops to get to the somewhat anti-climatic end.
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