Song of Solomon

Rating:
Summary: Unbelievably Beautiful and Painful, Yet Still Captivating!
Review: I do not know what I can add that has not already been said thus far by many of the reviewers before me. However, I will start with my history with this book.

Twenty years ago (!), and long before Oprah made Toni Morrison a household name, I was assigned the Song of Solomon in American Literature II as a freshman in college. Although I was an avid reader at that time, I approached this book with trepidation and with the drudgery of something assigned and not chosen. Even though many books I read that semester changed my initial expectation of a certain book from chore to gratification, I still approached Song of Solomon with unease. Neither the description found on the back of my paperback copy, nor the title itself remotely piqued my curiosity with regard to the story contained within. As such, basing my prejudice on this limited knowledge provided by the aforementioned description on the back of the book, and the prosaic titles of the class lectures in the course syllabus scheduled during its reading, I was sure my encounter with it would be a languishing and difficult journey through a morass of metaphors and symbolism.

With the above preamble, you can imagine my utter surprise and delight as I read this even for the first time (I just finished my fourth reading). Yes, there are metaphors and symbolism, but I daresay that as purely a captivating tale, they are not even needed. However, taking everything together, this book becomes an incredibly rich and vibrant story; the imagery, symbolism, and history only enhance it further to the point where the reader's experience with this novel is transformed into-as one reviewer put it-"literary ecstasy".

The story and the depth of the meaning within Song of Solomon--which will be unique to each reader--simultaneously captivates, saddens, and astonishes, as the reader is pulled in by a masterful weaving of story and substance. And when, without any awareness of its arrival, the reader finds themselves immersed into the story, it encourages and beckons relentlessly to continue to its brilliant ending. An ending which is so perfect so as to expect nothing more, yet so ingeniously open so as to allow one to ponder endlessly its many suggestions.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written and with a message
Review: In Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison takes the view - a common one - that we have to know our history to know ourselves. I don't really agree but in this case it makes a great story. The characters in her novel don't make calculations or follow strategies: they do what they have to do. The history that motivates their actions is an emotional, personal one. Morrison's preoccupation with this personal history is reflected in her use of unusual names: names that are given "from yearnings, gestures, flaws, events, mistakes, weaknesses . . . Macon Dead, Sing Byrd, Crowell Byrd, Pilate, Reba, Hagar, Magdalene, First Corinthians, Milkman, Guitar . . . ." Her characters are powerful, larger-than-life people, and clashes between them quickly escalate to life-and-death struggles. At the same time, they have a great capacity for empathy and self-sacrifice. Highly recommended.