I've just finished reading "Beloved" for the fourth or fifth time, and I'm sure it won't be the last time. This is THE great American novel. No one has confronted the terrors of slavery and the toll that both slavery and prejudice have taken on individuals and on our country as fully or as bravely as Morrison has. And I doubt that anyone else has the poetic gifts that she brings to her writing to make us see what has been done and what needs to be done.

If you are an American, and you have not read this book, shame on you. And what a treat you have in store for you if you dare to pick it up and engage with Morrison's vision. ( )

Having read and enjoyed Sula by Toni Morrison, I was excited to finally pick up a copy of Beloved. In this book Sethe and her daughter Denver live alone in a house in Ohio shortly after the Civil War. Sethe's two sons, run away from home by the time they are thirteen.
The house is haunted by the ghost of Sethe's 2 year old unnamed baby, simply known as Beloved. The haunting is severe and poltergeist-like, Beloved throws things, the house rattles and shakes, yet Sethe refuses to leave. No one visits Sethe and Denver, they don't want to go near the house, everyone knows it is haunted.

One day, an old acquaintance of Sethe's, a man named Paul D, shows up at her doorstep. The two become involved right away. Paul D knew Sethe years ago when she was first married and lived on a plantation before they were freed. He is happy to reconnect with her all these years later.
Not shortly after, a woman shows up in front of Sethe's home. Something about her is different, she can't talk much, is very sleepy and her skin is baby soft. When asked her name, she simply spells out the word, 'Beloved'.

Sethe lets Beloved into her home, gives her a place to sleep and takes her in for the time being. The family just figures she is a wanderer with no place to go. Beloved soon becomes obsessed with Sethe, and Sethe herself thinks of Beloved as her own child.

So many scenes stood out for me. One part in particular is when Denver walks in on her mother kneeling by her bed, praying, and sees a baby's white dress next to her, hugging Sethe around her waist. Just the thought of how this baby ghost still clings to her mother, and how even in death, mother and child are forever connected, gave me chills while reading.
Several scenes in this book also shocked me. If you've read this one, you know what I mean. As shocking as it was, I did enjoy this read. The characters are well written, the plot was excellent, the writing was fantastic and I found myself not wanting to put this book down. This is the kind of book that once you are done reading, you kind of just sit back and think about it. It's the kind of read you want to discuss. ( )

Beloved is the second Toni Morrison book that I have read, Song of Solomon being the first, and I have really enjoyed both of them. The complex family relationships that Morrison weaves throughout gives the novel an entirely new dimension, that makes it seem all that more real.

Sethe escapes slavery in Kentucky with her three children to live in Ohio with her husband's mother, as the story unfolds we find out bits and pieces of a tragedy that the family endured and the reasoning behind it. The hints that Morrison gives kept me reading and wanting to find out why, leading this to be a fairly quick read for me. I'm looking forward to reading The Bluest Eye which is staring at me from my TBR shelf. ( )

I was surprised and delighted to see that this novel-- the third by Morrison that I've read-- takes place in Cincinnati (though on a nonexistent street). It's not often that I get to read fiction set in my hometown. I think I liked this more than Song of Solomon and less than The Bluest Eye, for what it's worth. Morrison is one of those writers you can't speed-read, because you just end up being lost, but that's more of a slight against me than it is her. The story of Sethe and those around her attempting to expunge the ghost of slavery from their lives is a powerful one, and one that engenders mixed emotions: they must not forget the past, indeed "rememory" is central to the novel, but the past is an unkind spirit, one than can trap people and drain their health. The end of the book is ambiguous-- have they really won by forgetting Beloved? I think they've lost something, something important, but it's something they had to lose if they were to go on with their lives. Beloved is Morrison's memorial to the victims of American slavery, since no official memorial exists, but the novel itself suggests that we might be better off without such a memorial, as it would cause more problems than it would solve; we need to forget to heal. Is that why there is no slavery memorial? Will there ever be one?

A riveting story, highlighting a people and a time about which I know very little. ( )