Toni Morrison is one of my favourite writers. She's the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, her work depicting the African-American world in the USA in different times, their beliefs and traditions, portraying them as real people, for the first time away from the stereotypes white authors have created.
I'm only going to talk about the book I've read. Morrison's language is poetic, full phrases can be quoted as they display the truth about the human race, beyond race and religion. What is important to say is that Morrison's stories take place in black neighbourhoods, there are few or none white characters in her narratives.
'The Bluest Eye' was the first book I read. It has a complex beggining, the fragmentation of a nursery rhyme, showing that the childhood of the characters is not going to be what the reader's expected to.
Claudia, a child, tells the story of her neighbourhood during her childhood after the Depression, especially the story of her friend Pecola, who feels inferior because of her dark complexion. Pecola's only dream is to have blue eyes, which, according to her own belief, would help her to improve her life considerably. However, her whole life changes during a terrible afternoon, a story of abuse and pain, all depicted from the perspective of a young girl.
'Beloved' is my favourite book. Its dedication says 'Sixty Million and more', making reference to the black slaves and their descendants who died in the Slave Trade.
The story takes place after the American Civil War and it tells the story of Sethe, a slave who escapes a plantation with two of her children. After twenty-eight days of freedom, following the Fugitive Slave Act, a posser appears to retrieve her to her owner, but she decides to kill her child before letting her live as a slave. Years later, a woman appears claiming to be Beloved, the murdered daughter, full of passion and poison.
In 'Mercy', Morrison analyses the beggining of slavery, claiming that it is in the foundation of the American society.
It tells the story of Florens, a black slave, and her relationship with her owner Rebekka Vaark, inmigrat from England, both of them becoming attached to each other as they have to get used to to their new surroundings. When Rebekka became ill, is Florens who has to search for the remedy in the form of a freed-black man.
'Sula' is one of the first stories in American literature that retells the friedship between two women.
Bottom is a black neighbourhood. The girls Nel and Sula become friends, disregarding their completely different families. Nel's families is stable and believes in social conventions; the only peculiar character is Nel's grandmother Rochelle, a former prostitute. Sula's family is very different: her grandmother Eva and her mother Hannah are believed by the town to be eccentric, having male boarders in their house, something considered indecent at that time.
However, an accident changes Sula and Nel's lives forever, as they become apart.
Being very concise in contrast to her other works, 'Home' displays Morrison's powerful language, its poetic element, its unforgettable ideas.
It narrates the story of Frank Money. He is 24 and fought in the Korean War in an army made up of black and white soldiers, who fraternised without problems.
However, when he becomes a veteran, and as he travels through the country to his homeland, he realises his position in society remains the same, a second degree citizent, a black man in a white wold.
Milkman, the male protagonist of 'Song of Solomon', is nicknamed with that ridiculuos name as consequence of being breastfed until he was old enough to be wearing pants. He is considered a momma's boy, in contrast to his best friend Guitar, who is fatherless and motherless.
The story is told in sections that skip through time, making the reader unpuzzle the narrative as it develops.
Milkman's mother, Ruth, is the daughter of the only black doctor in town. Her husband becomes obsessed with the idea that Ruth loves his father more than she loves him, being physically aggressive towards her. Besides, Milkman's father, Macon Dean Jr., has a sister called Pilate who takes the role of Earth Mother in the story. Her granddaughter Hagar is desperately in love with Milkman, but he rejects her and, as a consequence, she tries to kill him in several opportunities. She is not the only characters who tries to kill Milkman, as an adult Guitar believes he has cheated him with a treasure they found, money to be used to kill white people.
As you can see, Morrison's work is varied and intriguing, complex and inviting. You can choose the one that attracts you the most and meet an author that would surely surprise you and enlarge your understanding of the world.
Ana Ovejero
mail: ana.ovejero@gmail.com
instagram:ananbooks
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