Beloved

Rating:
Summary: Worst novel EVER
Review: To all members of the Nobel Prize comittee: Why? Why did you give this disjointed, non-sensical "work" the most highly regarded prize on earth? Morrison's poor writing is disguised by the fact that she is black and is writing about slavery. If you polled all of the critics who gave this book rave reviews, I bet that you would find that most of them are white. They are embarrased by the crimes of their forefathers and feel that by giving Beloved a good review, they are making up for centuries of oppression. I read literary criticism for honest, no-holds-barred criticism. The falsified "kindness" that critics have bestowed on Morrison and Beloved makes me not want to ever read another review. A thoroughly unenjoyable work.

Rating:
Summary: nice book, few minor problems
Review: Morisson understands the time immediately after the Civil War very well, and presents a riveting look at the effects of slavery on the black psyche. Her use of graphically violent images may seem extreme, and turn off many readers, but it certainly makes its point, loud and clear. The way that Morisson starts with the generalities of the story and then moves to specifics is a little irritating and confusing though. She addresses many ideas central to African American literature, especially community and gender.

Rating:
Summary: Morrison's gigantic characters
Review: Beloved is not an easy read. But no work of literature with its scope could be anything but complex. Morrison's prose is beautiful in all its disjointedness, but it is the characters in beloved that I am obsessed with. She has a Doestoevsky like mastery when it comes to populating her novels and this is most evident in Beloved. Paul D, Seth, Stamp Paid, Garner, Schoolteacher, Baby Suggs (holy) have been seared into my conciousness for all time. One could do a good deal of critical thiking about these individual characters for weeks and still be awed by them. For some reason I was intrigued by Baby Suggs (holy) and the scene after the large banquet in which the invited guests turn really resentful. It is probably the most intriguing and memorable scene in the book and culminates in the event around which the work is centered. INCREDIBLE!

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps A Negative review
Review: Perhaps those who write negative reviews of Morrison's work are in touch with poor writing. The "style" the author displays in this novel has no substance. A quirky, irritating technique fails to hide very bad writing from the perception of the most remedial reader.

Rating:
Summary: Beloved: a work of a true genius.
Review: Toni Morrison is a genius. Perhaps, those who have written bad reviews of this book are not in touch with the style of writing that Morrison uses in her literature. You don't just 'read' Toni Morrison. The words become a part of you. Her characters get under your skin. Her storylines, while to some may be far fetched, provoke your mind and imagination. I would, however, not recommend this to be the first Toni Morrison book for someone to read. You must first read Song of Solomon, that book changed my life.

Rating:
Summary: Controversy, Beauty, and Sadness...
Review: _Beloved_, like many of Ms. Morrison's books, seems to draw either magnanimous praise or slashing criticizm. Rarely, does it seem, has an author been so loved, or hated, by anybody. But if you love Toni Morrison, you probably love her for books like this, which sweep over you like a humid, summer breeze in the south. If you find the plot debatable, or think Faulkner is overrated, don't bother with this, or any of her books. They're not for you. Personally, I think this stands behind only _Song of Solomon_ as her finest hour. The characters get to you right from the start, and the suspense builds throughout. Call her overhyped, call her underpraised, but Toni Morrison is a damn good writer, and this is one of her best.

Rating:
Summary: Declining interest...
Review: Noble Prize in Literature for Beloved...I don't get it! The characters are well developed, but the story so far fetched. I could not relate to it. I enjoyed it in the beginning, but disliked it the more I read. This always happens to me with Toni Morrison books like The Bluest Eye.

Rating:
Summary: Literature?
Review: Somehow Morrison has gotten a reputation for her "literature." This is a shame as her abilities are quite limited indeed. This novel is by far her worst and that must have taken some effort. A incomprehensible muddle of stereotypes and cliches written in a style far beyond this author's limited scope.

Rating:
Summary: Beloved was groundbreaking in its style and approach
Review: I preface this by saying, I am NOT a regular reader of fiction, more of poetry. -but I love Hemingway, I love Faulkner, Ralph Ellison, and now, I love Morrison . I read Beloved two and a half years ago, and my mind still shakes when remembering the journey. With relatively accessible vocabulary, simple sentence structures, and shockingly deep understanding of a reader's mind, Toni Morrison weaves a story that takes the reader down a vortex to the center of the deepest layer of our selves. In her most remarkable passages, Ms. Morrison solders her characters' shocking, horrific actions with lines illustrating their undeniable humanness. By simply, but honestly placing our most human drives within breathing room of our most hideous actions, She forces the reader not only to feel the characters in himself, but also to acknowledge his own potential for great love/horror/shock/beauty/magnificence. This feat alone makes her a groundbreaking author - the fact that she does this with language that makes you want to shout it aloud agian and again , ...wow.

Rating:
Summary: Good images, good technique, STUPID characters
Review: I HATE this book. Although technically well-written, in a lush imagistic style, its main character Sethe utterly disgusts me. She goes on and on, telling the reader irrelevant and sickening detail about her brutal life as a slave, while focusing on the most meaningless, useless, STUPID details in the present. Some of the supporting characters are no better. Do I really want to read about sex crimes on cows? NO!! This novel has all the finesse of a blind brachiosaur ramapaging through a china market; I threw it down in utter disgust by chapter. Its characters fail to gain any sympathy whatsoever from I, the reader, simply because their motivations are so petty, inconsequential, their observation so niggling and obsessive, their whole beings and selves STUPID and IGNORANT. This novel deserves to have a rating of -3 but unfortunately the scale doesn't go that low. As for the writer, she should have her prize taken away. Make that all her prizes!