Song of Solomon
Ratings83
Average rating4.2
I loved this book when I first read it Freshman year of college, and I still love it now. I decided to read it amidst the Virginia gubernatorial debacle to remember the details causing all the fuss.
And oh, did it come back... There are certainly some things that cause one to feel, euphemistically, uneasy: things of the Oedipal, incestuous variety. Also, murder. Also, race conflict. Which, in my personal opinion, all bound up in lovely prose and magical realism, makes for some fantastic reading. Based on the Song of Songs, it's a book all about Black love. It reads a lot like a reclamation of a biblical narrative, and it's a hard-hitting, beautiful novel. Can't recommend enough.
A delightful odyssey, a joy from start to finish. It's strange, it reminded me a bit of Murakami's writing style, the narrative continuously builds, almost every paragraph holds some new revelation about Milkman's universe and everyone associated with him. Different from Murakami of course is entirely believable characters everywhere, especially the females that constitute the backbone of the story and in a way Milkman himself. “What harm did I do you on my knee?” Continues to ring in my mind for some reason, thinking about the disturbing visions of both Milkman's parents. Continuously conflicting the reader with whether or not to sympathize or condemn the hateful Macon Dead, and be revolted or endeared to deranged Ruth Dead, in the end both are deeply flawed and fearful, nightmarish to read about. The same with Milkman's other two main compatriots, Hagar and Guitar, excellent characters who display nearly opposite forms of mania, Hagar's life dependent on the existence and love of one, Guitar's life dependent on vengeance and the killing of random others. Milkman himself to me became an enigma, I wasn't sure whether to pity him, cheer for him, scold him or deride him... But I saw myself in him all the same. It truly is a coming of age story, and I think the lesson finally learned in the end, spoken by the Judge Holden of the novel Pilate (who herself is, I think, the victory of Morrison's novel outside of Guitar's anti-villainism), is in her final words. Milkman finds community, the meaning of his life, when his life is already half over. Maybe I can find that a little sooner. This will be a fun reread someday.
I'm not sure I adore this quite as much as Beloved or Sula, but am so glad to have read it. Coming back to [b:Toni Morrison 6149 Beloved Toni Morrison http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165555299s/6149.jpg 736076] after a couple years since my last read of hers, I was just blown away by a lot of this book. Reading this really made me wish I'd taken a course in college on black masculinity (did UVa offer such a thing?)...I think all feminists interested in the intersectionality of race, class, and gender (which has been coming up again and again on feministing, lately, as it should) would benefit from reading this. At times Morrison's portraits of decay in rural America throughout the novel reminded me of the best parts of Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom: slow, slightly mystical, and walking the fine line between chilling and uplifting.
Re-read after Toni Morrison's death because this was the first book I read of hers, and I remember it as golden and influential in my life. Re-reading after 30 years, elements of the story weighed differently with me than they did the first time. I remembered the unearthing of Solomon's story as long and drawn out, based on agonizing detective work, but on re-reading I realized that Milkman practically picked the story out of thin air on the basis of nothing much. I remembered sympathizing strongly with Hagar, but this time I agreed more with First Corinthians on the subject of Milkman. I had completely forgotten about the friendship with Guitar and its breakdown. One thing I recognized and remembered as soon as I opened the book and read the first page again is that to read a Toni Morrison book is to put yourself in the hands of a master.
This book tells the story of the “Dead” family through the life of its youngest member, Macon Dead III, called Milkman. Milkman is drawn into the rift between his well to do landlord father and his moonshine brewing, herbal medicine practicing aunt. Because of this rift, he comes to investigate his family's origins and the early lives of his father and his aunt. What he finds surprises and energizes him, and draws him into a more authentic life.
Wow. This was... powerful. I don't really know what to say about it, I'm still thinking about it. Anyway, there's a reason [b:Toni Morrison 6149 Beloved Toni Morrison http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165555299s/6149.jpg 736076] is right there at the top of the contemporary canon.
Absolutely batshit in the best way. Annotated by my lovely girlfriend, and that really let me linger on Morrison's prose. Thick and sweet as molasses, electric and violent as a defibrillator. G-ddamn.
This book will stick with me. Which should maybe rate it four stars. But... I'm torn with this one. Aspects of it, I loved. Others ... Anyway. I still recommend it even if I didn't love it. The writing is superb. The story unique. But ... torn.