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readingwithgoose's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, Racism, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and Racial slurs
Minor: Rape, Religious bigotry, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
suchsweetsorrow89's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is my second Toni Morrison read and I cannot say I am disappointed! The other reviewers are right, this is something of a "love" story, but in a very traditional Morrison style. She asks us many questions and spans through many topics, not at the least confined to Black masculinity and femininity, love and relationships, nature versus the patriarchal domination of such, civility and order, and a kind of eerie transcendentalism (that somehow seems more realistic than that of Thoreau and Emerson). One of the things most shocking about this book is her depictions of abuse and violence, which definitely slows down the pacing of the book and merits a lot of praise. There are also some great lines in there such as "at some point in life, the world's beauty becomes enough," though it takes a bit to get there. The only critique I have seen regarding this text is one that is a staple in Morrison's texts: just when you think the book should end, she somehow manages to add another 50 pages of thoughts, feelings, and emotions (which often either circles back to the beginning of the book or merely seems to weave in something of her own thoughts). And with the other reviewers, that is also my critique of this book.
All in all, it is a wonderful book (though not my favorite of hers), and a part of me cannot wait to read and read it again!
All in all, it is a wonderful book (though not my favorite of hers), and a part of me cannot wait to read and read it again!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Rape
cepbreed's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm very happy to have finally read a book by Toni Morrison and decided for myself that she deserves all the praise she gets and more. Even though I've heard she wrote novels much better than Tar Baby I loved this book. Taking a folktale and adapting it in an indirect way was such a brilliant premise. Morrison has an amazing mind for connecting details to each other and created intrigue from the get go. Her characters are all dynamic and real. I found Margaret particularly compelling. This woman was a trophy was Valerian, his Maine born red haired pageant queen. At first it seems like she won, getting to marry a rich man with a home on a tropical island, but beneath the shallows of their marriage she was deeply unhappy. A woman pushed into a box, never allowed to be a girl. I'm not trying to justify any of her actions but the way she abused Michael as a baby was so foreign to me. Morrison describes the abuse in a way that finally made Margaret human. She needed someone to see her and Valerian never did that for her. Another moment of Margaret's that made me halt in my tracks was the discussion she has with Ondine long after the dinner party. Margaret complains about their cold relationship and blames Ondine for not stopping her abuse of Michael. She says Ondine was older and therefore responsible for her actions. Ondine responds "I wasn't thirty-five. I was twenty-three. A girl. Just like you." SHE ATE HER UPPPPP!! As much as Margaret has felt pained she only acknowledges herself as a victim.
Definitely going to read more Toni Morrison on my own time.
Definitely going to read more Toni Morrison on my own time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Death, and Murder
erebus53's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Every now and then I get to the end of a book and go... "welp... that happened"...?
Driven deeply by dialogue and character interplay, I think that to get the most out of this book it probably shouldn't be a solo project. Toni Morrison expects you to do the leg work, and pits characters with their own background and motivations on opposing sides of conflict, where there is no winner. It would probably be a good book club read.
Set in Martinique, we hear the story of a young black model who is raised by her aunt and uncle when she is orphaned. The relatives are the home-help of a rich white man who bankrolls the girl's education, and he comes to settle in the Caribbean after his retirement, with his trophy wife and home-help in tow. This once candy magnate, is now estranged from his son, and preparations are made for a Christmas dinner which may yet see his son visit them.
Meanwhile, a young black man jumps ship and finds himself waterlogged and half starved outside their house. He starts hanging about and pilfering pantry items until he is discovered hiding in a wardrobe. Invited to stay in the house and given a makeover, he shakes the whole household's ideas of the appropriate roles, and is a catalyst to some major upheaval, unleashing suppressed rage and uncovering long held secrets.
There is a pile of sexual tension between the model and the vagabond. She has been raised in a white man's house, and he comes from an impoverished black town and has Opinions. They have a lot to discuss. Boy do they. The relationship starts in a place of violated trust (he was a burglar caught hiding in her house?!) and you know that things will never be unconflicted with two people with such personal strength and belligerence.
Under a (metaphorical) rock we find the (also, thankfully, metaphorical) cockroaches of mental illness, child abuse, fear, and bigotry. We discuss the prodigal son and his Anthropology, and white saviour support of Indigenous tribes-people, and are confronted with the conspicuous consumption of fashion as epitomised by a luxurious fur coat made of baby seal pelts.
I am perhaps, not entirely fair with this book. I am too accustomed to books that have a specific theology to sell; a point to make. Be they scientific tomes that explore an idea and come up with conclusions, or YA Fiction that picks a moral side, or has goodies and baddies, they all tend to have a conclusion, whereas this story is left up in the air. It deliberately asks more questions than it answers. While I admire it for that, I also didn't enjoy it as much as I could have, because most of the issues are not new to me, and in summary, it's all quite disheartening.
Driven deeply by dialogue and character interplay, I think that to get the most out of this book it probably shouldn't be a solo project. Toni Morrison expects you to do the leg work, and pits characters with their own background and motivations on opposing sides of conflict, where there is no winner. It would probably be a good book club read.
Set in Martinique, we hear the story of a young black model who is raised by her aunt and uncle when she is orphaned. The relatives are the home-help of a rich white man who bankrolls the girl's education, and he comes to settle in the Caribbean after his retirement, with his trophy wife and home-help in tow. This once candy magnate, is now estranged from his son, and preparations are made for a Christmas dinner which may yet see his son visit them.
Meanwhile, a young black man jumps ship and finds himself waterlogged and half starved outside their house. He starts hanging about and pilfering pantry items until he is discovered hiding in a wardrobe. Invited to stay in the house and given a makeover, he shakes the whole household's ideas of the appropriate roles, and is a catalyst to some major upheaval, unleashing suppressed rage and uncovering long held secrets.
There is a pile of sexual tension between the model and the vagabond. She has been raised in a white man's house, and he comes from an impoverished black town and has Opinions. They have a lot to discuss. Boy do they. The relationship starts in a place of violated trust (he was a burglar caught hiding in her house?!) and you know that things will never be unconflicted with two people with such personal strength and belligerence.
Under a (metaphorical) rock we find the (also, thankfully, metaphorical) cockroaches of mental illness, child abuse, fear, and bigotry. We discuss the prodigal son and his Anthropology, and white saviour support of Indigenous tribes-people, and are confronted with the conspicuous consumption of fashion as epitomised by a luxurious fur coat made of baby seal pelts.
I am perhaps, not entirely fair with this book. I am too accustomed to books that have a specific theology to sell; a point to make. Be they scientific tomes that explore an idea and come up with conclusions, or YA Fiction that picks a moral side, or has goodies and baddies, they all tend to have a conclusion, whereas this story is left up in the air. It deliberately asks more questions than it answers. While I admire it for that, I also didn't enjoy it as much as I could have, because most of the issues are not new to me, and in summary, it's all quite disheartening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, Abortion, Colonisation, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Stalking, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Child abuse, Classism, Racial slurs, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: War and Slavery
magicalsocks's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
(8/8/21)
i am so happy i tackled this again after i picked it up in high school, read one chapter, and did not understand a thing. there’s still so much symbolism and metaphor that i know i missed - the moment i finished the last page i immediately flipped back to the beginning to start it again. i feel like the way toni morrison writes is conducive to rereads in a way that i have not found any other author to do as well as she does - she packs meaning and intent into every small detail, and i especially love the way she does character introductions, starting at a side detail usually in nature before sliding over imperceptively, usually in the middle of a sentence, to start talking about the character. i can picture a camera focusing on the birds flying around the trees on the estate and then slowly sliding over and refocusing on valerian sitting in the greenhouse. i do enjoy a good snappy introduction personally, but something about her style is so enjoyable to read. i feel like there’s so much trust and challenge put on the readers to put together the pieces of the novel, and it’s thrilling work.
i am so happy i tackled this again after i picked it up in high school, read one chapter, and did not understand a thing. there’s still so much symbolism and metaphor that i know i missed - the moment i finished the last page i immediately flipped back to the beginning to start it again. i feel like the way toni morrison writes is conducive to rereads in a way that i have not found any other author to do as well as she does - she packs meaning and intent into every small detail, and i especially love the way she does character introductions, starting at a side detail usually in nature before sliding over imperceptively, usually in the middle of a sentence, to start talking about the character. i can picture a camera focusing on the birds flying around the trees on the estate and then slowly sliding over and refocusing on valerian sitting in the greenhouse. i do enjoy a good snappy introduction personally, but something about her style is so enjoyable to read. i feel like there’s so much trust and challenge put on the readers to put together the pieces of the novel, and it’s thrilling work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Death
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Infidelity, and Slavery
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