FICTION

Beloved

by Toni Morrison
Vintage. Jun. 2004. 352p. pap. $17. ISBN 9781400033416.
COPY ISBN
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.
Reviewed by Heather Lassley & Darius Phelps , Sep 13, 2024

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