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Summary: A Complex, Cautionary Tale of African American Community
Review: Toni Morrison presents a complex, cautionary tale of the uses and misuses of racial pride, ancestor worship, chauvinism, and spirituality/religiosity. I wouldn't say this is a must-read, but I did find it thought-provoking and challenging.
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Summary: If you Like Morrison, YOU MUST READ "KINDRED"
Review: The book Kindred is by Octavia Butler, who also African-American; Kindred is the story of a woman who is transported back in time to the slavery era south in order to rescue her great, great, great, great, granfather. The catch is, he's white.
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Summary: excellent detail characterization and theme
Review: The first book i have read by Toni Morrisson, i found this book awash in detail provided with such straightforward observation, that the reader is never lulled into oblivion. Instead, the characters and the bizarre town from whence they come ignites in the reader an insatiable curiosity. I have not for a long time read a book so intensely interesting, if at times a bit confusing and disturbing. But like a good mystery this book's power is in the details you wish you could remember so that you could tie all the events together neatly. As it is this book is a mosaic of women' lives and their attempts to be redeemed. Couldn't ask for a better theme. But, buyer beware, the some of the events are twisted.
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Summary: NOTHING LESS THAN BRILLIANT
Review: Toni Morrison is a writer who does not spoon-feed you her work. Story lines are interwoven, emotions confusing and startling, and if you're looking for a neat and complete Hollywood ending you've definitely come to the wrong place with any of her writings. The incongruities of her writing is the genius of her writing and she deserves nothing less than a permanent space in literary history for this amazing piece of work. She imagines an entire town and describes every single aspect of it, from the street names to population's bloodlines to the religion that separates them. This is an amazing piece of work that has changed the way I view literature. And for those who are trying to figure out if the women died and which one was white... that very query is the point. It's the intentional hypothetical question that remains the genius of all of Toni Morrison's work.
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Summary: BAD READING
Review: My conclusion my be unwarranted because I did not finish the book. I could not finish the book, I tried very had, I read it half way through twice then I read a little further and I just couldn't continue. This was the worst peice of literature that I have ever attempted to read. I can not believe that this book was rated #1. Maybe It's just me I thougt until I discussed the book with the few people that I know who were able to finish the book. I am glad that I did not buy the book, it was difinitly beyond me. I will probably never read another one of Toni Morrison's book.
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Summary: Disjointed and vague... very poor use of language
Review: Toni Morrison (both Beloved and Paradise) is the only author on Oprah's list who engendered distaste in me for the entire work. Both are disjointed and vague...so much so that it's very difficult to follow the action or even understand what has transpired. Attempts to use flashback are unsuccessful. Instead, the author jumps from one scene to anther in a totally disorganized manner. In Paradise, at the end of the book, it was still impossible to discern what had happened to some of the women who ended up at the convent. The emotions presented are flat and unrealistic. For example, after not seeing her mother for nearly 10 years, a young woman reacts with the intensity one might expect if she'd been in the kitchen and had been away for only a minute or too. The mother, on the other hand, left terrified that this girl was trying to murder her, yet is not affected at all when running into her again. Finally, the mass murder scene as the book opens is left hanging..literally, and in the end there is no clue about how some survived or how they were able to escape w/out notice. This is definitely a 2 thumbs down book!
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Summary: Not Bad . Needs More Nik Nik & Less Spirits
Review: Which one has the fewest ghosts/supernatural entities/bible characters (the weakest link(s) in her chains?) Why are there never any beautiful women in any of Morrison's novels? Was hoping this would be her best book, adhering closest to reality. But -- the biblical underlayers here as well as intercession of ghosts and remembrances of dead babies in the other two biggies impose a strain on perspective; i.e., is she doing a fantasy or a drama/commentary or a combination of both - and where does one end and the other begin? Perhaps these efforts are best left to Stephen King et. al., those more skilled with the genre. There is a serious dearth of beautiful women and d&d consensuals in these novels and you can't but wonder if there is some subjective psychology at work here. Whenever the issue of ugly women comes up I always flash on the exchange between Jeff and Louie in TAXI: Jeff: Don't be callin' my mother ugly, Louie! Louie: Face it, Jeff, this is not Lena Horne we're talkin' about here! Jeff: Don't be talkin' about my mother, Louie. She's got beauty on the INSIDE! Louie: But she's Swamp Thing on the outside! Anyway, we've learned that a scary plain woman can be as literary as a foxy one & versa vice(Dorothy Dandridge, Diahann Carroll... their biographies ... ); probably moreso . Maya Angelou's been around since the flood. Likewise Angela Davis; a life half suspense novel and half treatise on the rise of genius. Her legacy of survival and faith in the human condition - now there's a special woman and a special story!
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Summary: HARD TO FOLLOW
Review: I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS BOOK. SO FAR I HAVE ENJOYED ALL OF THE BOOKS ON OPRAH'S BOOK LIST, THAT I'VE READ, HOWEVER THIS ONE DIDN'T CATCH MY INTEREST. I FOUND THE STORY VERY HARD TO FOLLOW, AND I DON'T THINK I MADE IT PAST THE 2ND CHAPTER. I HEAR THAT TONI MORRISON IS A GREAT AUTHOR, AND I DON'T KNOW IF ALL HER BOOKS ARE THIS HARD TO READ, BUT FOR PLEASURE READING, THIS BOOK DID NOT DO IT FOR ME.
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Summary: Lush Beauty Against A Stark Background
Review: As I was reading this I kept wondering what the heck was going on--but in the last few chapters everything was tied in so perfectly it all became crystal clear as a perfect high C. This book is gorgeously brilliant, so persevere though it. It is the kind of book that is even more rewarding on the second read. Remember too that when Morrison is writing of a character, she is often invoking their own voice and attitude in her prose style. Morrison is fearless and so brutally honest, I don't know how she stands it.
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Summary: I was disappointed. I couldn't even finish it.
Review: I was relieved to read all the other reviews on this book. Like many others that have read or attempted to read this book - it was just too complex to follow. I read for pleasure and this was just too much work. I hate not finishing a book, but I only made it half way through this one.
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