Tar Baby

Rating:
Summary: EHHH
Review: hoothoot420.
I found this book slow untill the middle and end. it wasnt as good as SULA, but it was laright. It is a story about love, abuse, and rascism. the White couple Margarete and Valerian have a son that later on in the novel you find that she abused the boy terribly, she burnt him, stuck him in the behind with pins and cut him. it is a good book, and i spose if someone asked i would recommend it

Rating:
Summary: Mesmerising tale of gender & racial politics
Review: I chose "Tar Baby" for my first Toni Morrison read. It may not be the most natural place to start, nor is it her most celebrated novel. I guess I was intrigued by its subject and the blurb at the back of the book. I wasn't disappointed. As many online reviewers have pointed out, Morrison isn't easy to get into. She can be abstract, even a little obscure in her prose, so you have to concentrate to grasp her message. But I was richly rewarded for my efforts. "Tar Baby"'s multifaceted treatment of gender and racial politics is simply outstanding. She deals with male/female, black/white, parent/child, rural/urban issues, using a plot and a fascinating cast of characters for every last bit of irony inherent in the material. It would make a great movie. Valerian Street escapes to the Caribbean but locks himself in a greenhouse fitted to recreate the familiar environment he seeks to escape from. He is patron to Jadine, material girl and educated niece of his black servants, Sydney and Ondine, yet condescending in his relationship with blacks. He is smug and openly contemptuous of his wife Margaret's bimbo background but isn't remotely prepared for the shock that awaits him when the past is revealed. The big showdown scene between the Streets and their servants in the middle marks an the early climax from which nobody - including the plot - quite recovers. Intentionally or not, it upstages the tumultouse love affair between Jadine and black intruder, Son. Both are black, but that's about as much they have in common with one another. Will they succeed in overcoming the deep cultural divide that separates them ? I won't spoil it for fellow readers. Read the ending and figure it out for yourselves. "Tar Baby" was a fantastic reading experience for me. I loved the book so much I didn't want it to end. Truly.

Rating:
Summary: Mesmerising tale of gender & racial politics
Review: I chose "Tar Baby" for my first Toni Morrison read. It may not be the most natural place to start, nor is it her most celebrated novel. I guess I was intrigued by its subject and the blurb at the back of the book. I wasn't disappointed. As many online reviewers have pointed out, Morrison isn't easy to get into. She can be abstract, even a little obscure in her prose, so you have to concentrate to grasp her message. But I was richly rewarded for my efforts. "Tar Baby"'s multifaceted treatment of gender and racial politics is simply outstanding. She deals with male/female, black/white, parent/child, rural/urban issues, using a plot and a fascinating cast of characters for every last bit of irony inherent in the material. It would make a great movie. Valerian Street escapes to the Caribbean but locks himself in a greenhouse fitted to recreate the familiar environment he seeks to escape from. He is patron to Jadine, material girl and educated niece of his black servants, Sydney and Ondine, yet condescending in his relationship with blacks. He is smug and openly contemptuous of his wife Margaret's bimbo background but isn't remotely prepared for the shock that awaits him when the past is revealed. The big showdown scene between the Streets and their servants in the middle marks an the early climax from which nobody - including the plot - quite recovers. Intentionally or not, it upstages the tumultouse love affair between Jadine and black intruder, Son. Both are black, but that's about as much they have in common with one another. Will they succeed in overcoming the deep cultural divide that separates them ? I won't spoil it for fellow readers. Read the ending and figure it out for yourselves. "Tar Baby" was a fantastic reading experience for me. I loved the book so much I didn't want it to end. Truly.

Rating:
Summary: not her best book, but okay
Review: I didn't like this novel that much. toni morrison could have had better dialouge. there was too much vulgarity. Yet, the book still had a message that should be a wake up call for most men and women

Not all life experiences are taught to us by the world's system of education .

Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking
Review: I felt, after reading the other reviews here, that I had to speak out in this novel's defense. Tar Baby is among Morrison's best, and near the top of my list of recent American literature. Morrison's prose is angry here; perhaps that is why so many had a difficult time with this novel. I admit I do not agree with the racial philosophy of this book. The idea of a Black woman "selling out" is preposterous to me. But this does not lessen the impact of the statement, nor does it illegitimize the novel, allowing a reader to dismiss it as bigoted, or separatist. Rather, it exposes one to another point of view which, while disturbing, is nonetheless thought-provoking. Funny, but I always likened her writing style to Hemingway. Distinctly her own. While it is seldom easy to read a book of hers, she is an adept master of language, and crafts sentences filled with emotion and beauty. It is too easy to say this book creates boundaries and contrasts- Black/White, Strong/Weak, Good/Bad. However, the point of the novel is identity. Toni Morrison's examination of this topic is, in my opinion, wonderful, and captivated me throughout.

Rating:
Summary: jadine in me
Review: i finally read this book because i was told by a close friend that i reminded her of jadine. once i began to read i instantly saw her point. jadine, perhaps the most interesting next to margret, is the 1990/2000 black woman. educated. successful. partially assimilated. but never quite whole. jadine has no counterpart. she is never truly satisfied with her success because her black man has failed to join her. the relationship between jadine and son (who is a classic case of the black boy who never develops into a man...see john singleton's babyboy)is classic because it is an illustration of the upwardly mobile woman trying to love a man who is sometimes strangled by his hostility and down right contrary nature. don't get me wrong, jadine is no angel, as she has plenty of identity issues, but i do see a lot of myself in her. why should she have to marry a white man? why can't her man grow up and live in the present world rather than his delusions and hostility. can we really blame jadine for wanting more?

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book
Review: I found this book insightful and thought-provoking. I could relate very much to the character of Jadine, and to her situation. I found this very refreshing, because it is not every day that an author tackles the issues of skin color, education, and class-- issues that are prevalent in the lives of many Black Americans. Toni Morrison takes us inside the heads of all of her characters. She does not have to try to avoid stereotypes, because she develops all of her characters so fully that the reader ultimately sees them all as human beings. I have never seen an author more successful at doing this. Tar Baby is a difficult book, but it is worth it. It is one of those books that will leave you different after you have read it.

Rating:
Summary: Take time With Tar Baby
Review: I read Tar Baby last year and I have to admit I did have a hard time reading the book. You have to read the sentences over and over to understand what she is saying. Then I thought, why is that so bad? As Ms. Morrison said herself, "That my dear, is called reading!" This is not a fast food book, take time reading it. Trust me.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent use of language and symbolism; enjoyable character
Review: I taught Tar Baby in a 12 Honors class. Each time I read the novel I appreciate it that much more. The characters are carefully drawn, unveiling their idiosyncracies layer by layer. Valerian's retreat into the greenhouse where he must learn how to get plants to bloom and ants to walk the other way is both amusing and pathetic. What I have found particularly enjoyable is Morrison's use of symbolism. The woman in the yellow dress, the tar pit, etc. all weave together to form a powerful novel. Perhaps not quite as arresting as Beloved, Tar Baby certainly deserves high marks.

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.