Beloved | 
pickThe tale of Sephe‘s family free from slavery dealing with the consequences of her actions to save her children from becoming slaves again.
This book is heartbreaking and devastating to know that the harsh, repugnant treatment of African Americans in the United States happened in real life and people should never have to deal with the trauma of not owning their own life.
pickThis is such a tough book. The horrors and lasting effect of slavery… it‘s hard to read. Or listen to in my case (though I have to say, Toni Morrison‘s voice is like velvet). I doubt I picked up on half the metaphors and such, and will likely read this again and again.
pickThis is a moving book that is classified as a horror story of ghosts. The real horror though, is how it compels you to gain a little more understanding of the horror of the South during slavery. To me, what has happened to Black people in the United States is worse than the Holocaust in terms of the suffering that has been endured.
This is a wonderful LitHub article on opening lines. Jonathan Lee cites Morrison's Beloved, a book that is still TBR. I still recall the opening of Song of Solomon, years later:
https://lithub.com/jonathan-lee-on-hooking-a-reader-with-the-first-line/
I read this in my American Lit class back in college and throughly enjoyed it.
#ToniMorrison #WeRemember 🌹💔
#BookNerd 🤓💙📚
Beloved named by Bookriot as 1 of "20 most influential historical fiction books of all time." Pic of Toni Morrison from a visit to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. #WeRemember #ToniMorrison @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
pickBeautiful storytelling with genuine characterisations gradually unveiling the difficulties and torment experienced by Sethe and her family.
Highly recommended.
Round-up of the books of March.
Fiction - 10
Non-fiction- 5
DNF - 1 - The Astronaut's guide to living on earth by Chris Hadfield (I was inspired by his attitude and commitment but found it repetitive throughout the book. So much so it made me lose interest in the space stories)
#BOTM
The tagged book was my favourite March read by far. Reviewed on book profile.
Beloved is slaying me in a different way as a woman than it did as a 17-year-old at Yale. Looking forward to discussing it with you on the #podcast.
This quote is from her introduction, where she discussed how the novel came to be and her intentions for it. I decorated this way because I discover plants move the story forward, generate “rememory “, hurt and heal, bring people together and tear flesh. The roses die along the route to the carnival.
pickBeloved smacks of a book that needs to be re-read over and over again to be appreciated fully. I wanted to love it outright; everyone said that I would and that I should… but I didn‘t, really. In fairness, lockdown probably wasn‘t the right time for me to read it. There‘s some future me who will re-read it and find it completely wonderful and brilliant. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/beloved-toni-morrison/
bailedMe and Toni Morrison, we‘ve never been a good match. I know it‘s an unpopular opinion but this was the fourth of her books I tried and again it didn‘t work. Beloved asks too much from me. I can‘t seem to follow along and all time jumping and magical realism feels forced to me. Maybe some other time… #1001books
#WeeklyForecast 43/21
In progress are The Promise (which I am enjoying a lot) and Beloved. Toni Morrison and I are not a good match - again. But I‘ll stick with it a bit longer.
I still have The Nothing Man lined up and am adding a translation of At Night‘s End, an Israelian book quite popular here at the moment.
#scarathlon #screamathon #teamHendrix week 2 Diversify your Horror Shelf
I was surprised when I learned that Beloved was listed many places as a horror book.
Not your traditional horror, but worth the read for the classical complexities.
so-soI wish I would have read this in school so I could have more analysis and discussion around it to really understand. It is a classic and Morrison is a God of writing but I don't think I really understand this. Blaming myself not the book.
Joining in #outstandingoctober readathon with @Andrew65 getting those #scarathlon points for #teamhendrix
I only finished one gorgeous book over the week but am close to finishing 2 more so my goal is to finish those and read a novella and one other book
Beloved
Once There Were Wolves
Ogers
Winter Counts
Treat yourself to this great deal today! 😃
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TWUTYG/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_a_NCAHJE93QJ1MRNV15Y9...
pickThis is an intricate, challenging, beautiful, and heartbreaking exploration of the legacy of slavery in the lives of one family and their community. Whether Beloved is really the ghost is left open for debate, but her presence ultimately changes Sethe and Denver as they grapple with the past. A deserved Pulitzer Prize winner, and just as worth reading now as when it was published in 1987.
pickA heady blend of historical fiction and horror, Beloved takes us into a household of Black women just after the Civil War. Haunted both by the mother's prior life as a slave and a spirit that inhabits the house, this family overburdened with too much past must find a way into the future. Poignant and creeping yet awash with profound and poetic prose, a rare feat of literary horror.
#bookspin
“She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order. It‘s good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind.”
pickI loved this book. It was one of the most beautifully written novels that I‘ve ever read. It‘s also one of the most tragic. The story is sort of like a long meandering dream that suddenly leaps between different characters, settings, and timeframes. Due to that, the story can be quite confusing at times, but if you stick with it, you‘ll get used to it. The author‘s narration in the audio edition is so personal it adds to the experience. 5/5
pick'Beloved' is a work of art. It transcends genres. It's a disturbing historic account of the evils inflicted on a community, it's a psychological analysis of the turmoils of a simple woman caught in extremely harsh situations and somehow the supernatural element complements the story. The usage of dialogues and memories as a medium of narration establishes a link between the reader and characters.
Image sources: guardian.com and wikipedia.com
"THERE IS a loneliness that can be rocked. Arms crossed, knees drawn up; holding, holding on, this motion, unlike a ship‘s, smooths and contains the rocker. It‘s an inside kind—wrapped tight like skin. Then there is a loneliness that roams. No rocking can hold it down. It is alive, on its own. A dry and spreading thing that makes the sound of one‘s own feet going seem to come from a far-off place."
#beloved #tonymorrison
"They had become an occasional mutter—like the interior sounds a woman makes when she believes she is alone and unobserved at her work: a sth when she misses the needle‘s eye; a soft moan when she sees another chip in her one good platter; the low, friendly argument with which she greets the hens. Nothing fierce or startling. Just that eternal, private conversation that takes place between women and their tasks."
#beloved
pickAnother excellent story by Morrison ❤️ Beloved (the movie) seemed like a ghost story, but the book relayed how it was so much more than that. I plan on rewatching the movie, while it‘s fresh, to see what I may have missed.
I love how deep she delves into character backstories, bringing everything together in the end.
The pain of slavery and its eternal wounds is heartbreaking and she conveyed this hurt so well.
"to get to a place where you could love anything you chose—not to need permission for desire—well now, that was freedom." ..... It's like she answered the question she posed in the foreward of the book.
#beloved #tonymorrison
"In Ohio seasons are theatrical. Each one enters like a prima donna, convinced its performance is the reason the world has people in it."
#beloved #tonymorrison
"But her brain was not interested in the future. Loaded with the past and hungry for more, it left her no room to imagine, let alone plan for, the next day. "
#beloved #tonymorrison
"Where bits of news soaked like dried beans in spring water—until they were soft enough to digest." - some news takes a lot from us...
#beloved #tonymorrison
"Suspended between the nastiness of life and the meanness of the dead, she couldn‘t get interested in leaving life or living it" ... Somehow feels apt for the dilemma during this pandemic.
#beloved #tonymorisson
pick“She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order.”
“There is a loneliness that can be rocked. Arms crossed, knees drawn up; holding, holding on, this motion, unlike a ship‘s, smooths and contains the rocker. It‘s an inside kind — wrapped tight like skin. Then there is a loneliness that roams. No rocking can hold it down. It is alive, on its own. A dry and spreading thing that makes the sound of one‘s feet going seem to come from a far-off place.”
pickWhat can I say about this book? So appropriate that I finished it during Black History Month. The story it tells is so compelling and it makes me feel that the mind of the author must have been so full of urgency to write this tragic tale. It‘s heartbreaking. #BookSpinBingo #BS from January and #3 February #BFC21 #SHUTDOWNRound2 #WinterRespite #100YEARS100BOOKS
so-soAn odd book to read. I struggled to get through it. The writing feels too gauzy, heavy on analogy & entirely too esoteric. The premise & content I found compelling & interesting. The narrative was hard-hitting & candid with incredibly emotional historical content. It is a necessary documentation & it is an important read, I just met it with resistance in my ability to fully connect. An unrewarding ending sealed the deal. Morrison & I don't gel.
#ShowSomeLove Day 5: Some of My #FaveBlackAuthor(s). I have an entire bookshelf just filled with female authors - mostly women of color. 💕💕
Perhaps I could call my boss and say “Sorry, boss, I can‘t come in this week. I finished reading Beloved and then just turned straight back to page 1 and started it all over again. My husband also started reading it, so we need some time; besides that, I‘ve got to go to the library to pick up my holds of Jazz and Paradise.” And my boss would say, “oh yes. Only a week? Take two and I‘ll see you once you‘ve put yourself back together again.” #dream
pickThis is a book to be read deeply, slowly, really seeing each sentence, each moment - because Morrison can convey more about a character with a couple of sentences than many skilled authors can do with a couple of pages. ⤵️⤵️
