Toni Morrison books

[unexplained]

I got to start looking out for Toni Morrison's books. They sound like a great read, coming from the feedback.

[AnnaRHR]

Personally, I think the Bluest Eye and Song of Solomon and Tar Baby (although TBE and SOS are the best ones ) are the easiest to get into. Some of them take some extra work to understand (Beloved, Jazz, Paradise). Of course they're all great! The only one I really didn't care for was Sula, and that's just because it had such a convoluted message (just my opinion), but I still have such respect for her as an author!

If you read any of them, I would be happy to discuss with you or answer any questions.

[eldee]

John clarified who Koontz quotes in his books and it is from the unpublished Book of Counted Sorrows and not Song of Solomon.

[hazyshadeof]

Originally posted by AnnaRHR
The only one I really didn't care for was Sula, and that's just because it had such a convoluted message (just my opinion

Probably why I liked it so much.

[AnnaRHR]

Crazy Hazy!

[arabela]

I read Sula... Well, it certainly left an impression on me and I cannot forget that book. But I wouldn't say I really liked it. What the hell was the author trying to say by having all those morbid scenes in there ? I just cannot imagine somebody burning his son or drowning an infant and not trying to save it ? Half of the people in the book were seriously in lack of mental health.
OK, there were parts that resonated in me, for instance the friendship of the two girls.
But on overall, I felt slightly sick reading the book.
Why do you guys like Toni Morrison ?

[arabela]

The only one I really didn't care for was Sula, and that's just because it had such a convoluted message (just my opinion), but I still have such respect for her as an author!

If you read any of them, I would be happy to discuss with you or answer any questions.

Yessss !
Can You tell me what was actually that convoluted message ?
I didn't get it !

[nausicaa]

Toni Morrison is one of few female authors I read. I like her almost as much as I like Margaret Atwood.

Sula is her finest, IMO. Short, complex, and brutal.

Arabela - great fiction is supposed to unsettle you.

ETA: I know I'm in the minority here. Most readers of Morrison cite either Beloved or Song of Solomon as their favourite work.

[arabela]

Arabela - great fiction is supposed to unsettle you.

All right, for instance, when the great fiction about war unsettles me, it induces the hatred for war in me, which, if it has the same effect on many people, leads to benefits for mankind.

But what was Toni Morrison trying to unsettle me about ? Well, there was alittle bit about war, as usual, but what about the rest ?

[Onyx]

Toni Morrison books should not be made into movies. There's too much there and they don't translate well.

Did anyone else see Beloved as a comment on slavery? Bear with me, testing my theory out here and it's been a while since I read it. Now the ghost of Beloved is the legacy of slavery, right. And the way the main characters interact and react to Beloved is the way newly freed slaves react to the legacy. Sethe embraced the pain of it. She remembers Beloved and will not forget and the townspeople resent her for being a reminder. Paul is unsure of his feelings but knows they are negative and unsettlingly. And the daughter wants Beloved as hers. She doesn't truly understand what Beloved is but is the first to recognize her, as her "lost sister". Blah, Blah. I can go on forever. Would appreciate any feedback here! Help me out.