Book Review: "Beloved" by Toni Morrison - Your Entertainment Corner

★★★★★★

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Toni Morrison’s Beloved is a spellbinding and dazzlingly innovative portrait of a woman haunted by the past.

Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not truly free. She has borne the unthinkable and not gone mad, yet she is still held captive by memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. Meanwhile Sethe’s house has long been troubled by the angry, destructive ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.

Sethe works at beating back the past, but it makes itself heard and felt incessantly in her memory and in the lives of those around her. When a mysterious teenage girl arrives, calling herself Beloved, Sethe’s terrible secret explodes into the present. – Alfred A. Knopf

This is by far the most captivating and enthralling book I’ve ever read. I don’t think I’ve fallen so in love with the writing style of an author—ever. Not only does A.S. Hyatt’s introduction pull you into the story, but the story itself weaves its way around your heart and mind, stimulating your senses and setting you carefully into the protagonist’s world. I thought I wouldn’t enjoy Beloved because of my previous experience reading a Toni Morrison novel. The first one (the title of which I cannot remember) was lost on me. I didn’t comprehend a single word I read and I very quickly stopped reading. But at the time, I was a mere 16. Did that have anything to do with my lack of understanding what I was reading? I’m not sure but I didn’t have that problem this time around.

I read this book in a day and a half and I couldn’t read it fast enough. Beloved reads like poetry. And (a sweet surprise for me) there are two chapters comprised of poetry. My inner poet sprung to life while reading Morrison’s words, bringing the visuals she creates to life effortlessly. The prose is fascinating, and as the story of Sethe’s past and present unfolds you find the tale isn’t entirely hers. Sethe has three children, Howard, Buglar and Denver. Her two sons run off at the age of 13 as they can no longer stand the haunted house they live in, and her 18-year-old daughter, Denver, seems content where she is. The ghost who haunts their home is her friend. She’s comforted knowing there is someone around who wants to be with her, who cares to be with her. I think what may be missed is Beloved is as much about Denver’s struggles as it is Sethe’s. Denver is affected just as much, if not more, by what Sethe has done, and the consequences of her actions leave Denver as an outcast right along with her mother.

I have seen the film adaptation of this book and I’ll be honest, I didn’t get it. But since reading the book, I understand and can appreciate the film in a different light. Actually, the film depicts Morrison’s words and the mood of the novel perfectly. The inhabitants of 124 are not only bound there by the spirit which haunts it, but Sethe’s unflinching resolve—or dare I say her selfishness. She went through so much to have her freedom that she will not let anyone or anything keep it from her. What I don’t think she expected was that very freedom to almost be the downfall of her existence. That’s where Paul D comes in. As a link to Sethe’s past, he has a way to reach deep down and get to the root of the matter, where others were not able to. He pulls Sethe back from the brink of destruction just by being there, providing her with what she needs—stability.

While I won’t go into detail about what happens in this book because it’s worth you finding out on your own, I will say you won’t forget Beloved. It’s deeply moving and will leave an imprint on your mind that will remind you of what it truly means to be free—physically as well as mentally. We can create prisons for ourselves and it takes a special person to understand and offer their help to break you out of it.

I highly recommend Beloved for anyone who wants a different reading experience. Sethe’s actions left me wondering what I would have done in her place. I think I agree with Paul D when he says to Sethe, “There could have been a way. Some other way.” Not only will this story touch you, it just may move you to make changes in your life. For the better, of course.

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Elle

Writer, mother, realist, cloud lover, daydreamer, dessert enthusiast, sweet tea addict, perfectionist, and lover of life and Christ, but not in that order. http://www.fanfiction.net/~vikingloverelle