Beloved by Toni Morrison

Book Review

Have you ever read something that you knew was likely a masterpiece despite the fact that you couldn’t quite understand it? That’s how I felt reading Beloved.

Beloved tells the story of Sethe, a woman who escaped from slavery and lives as a free woman in Ohio with her daughter, Denver. Sethe’s house is haunted by a spirit, which she believes is the soul of her unnamed daughter who passed away as a baby and was buried beneath a headstone inscribed with one word, “beloved”. One day, a mysterious young woman who goes by the name of Beloved shows up out of nowhere on Sethe’s doorstep. 👻

While I can certainly understand why this book is considered a classic, I definitely struggled with it. The book is filled with many beautiful descriptions and a plethora of symbolism (most of which I had to google to understand). Through her unforgettable characters, Morrison weaves a storyline that captures the grief, hope and trauma of Black folks in a post-Civil War era. Despite the incredibly thoughtful and intentional setup, the second half of the book eluded me as I often had no clue what was happening and much of the plot line seemed left to interpretation. Nevertheless, I can certainly acknowledge the fact that this is an incredible work of art.

This book brought me back to my high-school days of scouring Spark Notes (however, this time I’d actually read the book 😆). While I think I understand much of the story now (post-Spark notes), I wish I had a classroom full of peers with whom to discuss. If you enjoy classics, and/or books rich with underlying meaning, this one is for you.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

This was my first Toni Morrison book and I’m so glad I read it despite my difficulties understanding it. I can see why Morrison is such highly acclaimed author.