
'Song of Solomon' by Toni Morrison is a beautifully written novel that follows the life of Milkman Dead, a young man on a journey of self-discovery while navigating different cultures. The book delves into the past, present, and future of an extended family whose ancestors were slaves, exploring themes of race, identity, and belonging. With a fully realized black world, the novel introduces a cast of complex characters and weaves a bold coming-of-age story threaded with a deep understanding of black culture.
The plot of 'Song of Solomon' revolves around Milkman's quest for self-awareness, symbolized by his continuous efforts to fly, mirroring a man's vain attempt to do the same at Milkman's birth. The narrative is multi-layered, with rich character development and intricate relationships that provide insights into the human experience, while the writing style is described as lyrical, daring, and experimental, capturing the complexities of interactions between race, gender, and class without being didactic.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of racism, violence, and emotional distress, including familial dysfunction and mental health issues.
Has Romance?
There are romantic elements, especially in Milkman's relationships, but they often lead to heartache and unreciprocated feelings.
From The Publisher:
An official Oprah Winfrey's "The Books That Help Me Through" selection
With this brilliantly imagined New York Times bestselling novel, Toni Morrison transfigures the coming-of-age story as audaciously as Saul Bellow or Gabriel García Márquez.
Milkman Dead was born shortly after a neighborhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight. For the rest of his life he, too, will be trying to fly. As Morrison follows Milkman from his rustbelt city to the place of his family's origins, she introduces an entire cast of strivers and seeresses, liars and assassins, the inhabitants of a fully realized Black world.
Ratings (21)
Incredible (4) | |
Loved It (8) | |
Liked It (5) | |
It Was OK (1) | |
Did Not Like (2) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (62):
Read It (23) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (37) | |
Not Interested (1) |
1 comment(s)
it's toni morrison's nobel prize winning novel, but i didn't give it five stars....
because i like
beloved better
is this an incredible novel about finding your history in the context of black americans, and all the self-hatred and striving for better things that involves? yes
should every american read everything morrison has written because we are incredibly ignorant about the history of african americans? yes
but i still liked
beloved better
About the Author:
TONI MORRISON is the author of eleven novels, from The Bluest Eye (1970) to God Help the Child (2015). She received the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and in 1993 she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. She…
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