Beloved

September 1, 1988
``Mixed with the lyric beauty of the writing, the fury in Morrison's . . . book is almost palpable,'' asserted PW of this Pulitzer Prize-winning ``haunting chronicle of slavery and its aftermath'' set in rural Ohio in the wake of the Civil War. The ``brilliantly conceived story . . . should not be missed.''

February 4, 1991
Set in post-Civil War Ohio, this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel concerns a runaway slave and her daughter, whose lives are disrupted by a former slave, a spirit and a woman named Beloved. According to PW, this ``brilliantly conceived story . . . should not be missed.''

August 17, 1987
Mixed with the lyric beauty of the writing, the fury in Morrison's (Song of Solomon) latest book is almost palpable. Set in rural Ohio several years after the Civil War, this haunting chronicle of slavery and its aftermath traces the life of a young woman, Sethe, who has kept a terrible memory at bay only by shutting down part of her mind. Juxtaposed with searing descriptions of brutality, gradually revealed in flashbacks, are equally harrowing scenes in which fantasy takes flesh, a device Morrison handles with consummate skill. The narrative concerns Sethe's former life as a slave on Sweet Home Farm, her escape with her children to what seems a safe haven and the tragic events that ensue. The death of Sethe's infant daughter Beloved is the incident on which the plot hinges, and it is obvious to the reader that the sensuous young woman who mysteriously appears one day is Beloved's spirit, come back to claim Sethe's love. Sethe's surviving daughter, Denver, immediately grasps the significance of Beloved's return and so does Paul Dno period after D, another escapee from Sweet Home; but Sethe herself resists comprehension, and, as a result, a certain loss of tension affects the latter part of the narrative. But this is a small flaw in a novel full of insights, both piercing and tender, with distinctive, memorable characters, flowing prose that conveys speech patterns with musical intensity and a brilliantly conceived story. As a record of white brutality mitigated by rare acts of decency and compassion, and as a testament to the courageous lives of a tormented people, this novel is a milestone in the chronicling of the black experience in America. It is Morrison writing at the height of her considerable powers, and it should not be missed. BOMC main selection.

September 13, 2024

Gr 10 Up-Past sins find a way of making themselves known in the present. Formerly enslaved Sethe resides with her daughter Denver. Their lives take a turn when Paul D arrives, and a mysterious girl who calls herself Beloved comes into their home. As the narrative progresses, it is revealed that Beloved embodies the spirit of Sethe's murdered daughter. Morrison's iconic novel is a journey, one that is not always pretty, through the decisions that Sethe made to keep her children from slavery. It cuts right to the heart of what life after the Civil War was like for those who were now supposedly free. Like all of Morrison's works, this classic demonstrates the power that lies behind our voices and pens and the art of storytelling. The work amplifies the topics of trauma, love, and literacy. VERDICT Scenes of rape and violence make this a difficult read, but it is a must particularly for those who are studying the physiological and historical effects of the Civil War.-Heather Lassley & Darius Phelps

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