
Beloved by Toni Morrison is a haunting and complex story that delves into the horrors of slavery and its lingering impact on individuals. The book weaves together themes of love, motherhood, guilt, identity, and the supernatural, creating a dense and poetic narrative that explores the lives of freed slaves post-slavery era. Morrison's writing style is described as rich, poetic, and masterful, blending magical realism into the storytelling to create a touching tale of a woman grappling with her past and the return of her deceased daughter.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include graphic depictions of violence, sexual assault, and themes of infanticide.
Has Romance?
There are romantic elements, especially in the relationship between Sethe and Paul D, though they are overshadowed by darker themes.
From The Publisher:
Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding New York Times bestseller transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby.
Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe's new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Filled with bitter poetry and suspense as taut as a rope, Beloved is a towering achievement.
Ratings (128)
Incredible (33) | |
Loved It (53) | |
Liked It (21) | |
It Was OK (14) | |
Did Not Like (5) | |
Hated It (2) |
Reader Stats (277):
Read It (138) | |
Currently Reading (2) | |
Want To Read (113) | |
Did Not Finish (2) | |
Not Interested (22) |
6 comment(s)
It was a haunting, heartbreaking but also beautiful and powerful.
One of my favorite books.
Slavery is a word which brings the horrors of life along with it. How could a person be so cruel to treat another in such a manner? And How can a person be so tolerant to be treated so cruelly?
It was a terribly sad story of slavery and dreams of Seth to be free from slavery , not only for her but even for her kids. The narration is in twisted manner where the story goes back and forth and slowly the horrors of it dawns upon us.
Seth is born as a slave and marries a slave. Her mother in law Baby Suggs is freed from slavery as her son (Seth's Husband) works for her. Actually they are treated well in the farm "Sweet Men" but the story turns when the owner dies and ownership is handed over to another relative who treats them bad. And Sweet Home Men decide to run away. Well some succeed, mainly Seth succeeds with a pregnant belly and delivers in the half way but reunites with her mother in law Baby Suggs and kids who were with mother in law. No, its not so happy as it sounds, the real horror comes next and it changes everyone. Even us , the Readers.
Dark, moving tale of the impact of trauma throughout generations
Is it completely off to consider
Beloved the quintessential American novel?
I’m struggling to even know what to write after reading this book. It’s so captivating and well-written, but also extremely distressing.
Beloved centers on trauma, stressing the necessity of facing trauma, and, eventually, learning to live despite it.
The book that got me into Tony Morrison.
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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