The Essential Toni Morrison - The New York Times

Where to Start with Toni Morrison | The New York Public Library

Toni Morrison: 9 Essential Books, Works by Nobel Laureate – Rolling Stone

13 of the Best Toni Morrison Books, Including "Beloved"

15 Best Toni Morrison Books: Where to Start | Reedsy Discovery

In an overlooked Michigan locality, an insurance expert, Robert Smith, dives from the roof of Mercy Hospital, wearing blue silk wings, hoping to fly across Lake Superior, but tragically falls to his demise. The following day, Ruth Foster Dead, offspring of the town's pioneer Black physician, delivers the first Black child in the hospital, named Milkman Dead. Upon realizing at the tender age of four that flight is impossible for humans, Milkman grows uninterested in life. Despite the affection showered on him by his mother, aunt Pilate, siblings, First Corinthians and Lena (nicknamed Magdalene), and his cousin and lover, Hagar, he remains detached and apathetic. His character mirrors his father's, Macon Dead II, a merciless property owner whose life revolves around amassing wealth.

Milkman suffers from an inherited condition, an emotional ailment originating from the historical oppression experienced by past generations. His grandfather, Macon Dead, acquired his peculiar name from an inebriated Union soldier filling out his papers, which concealed his true name. Macon was eventually assassinated defending his territory. His murder left his children, Macon Jr. and Pilate, permanently traumatized and estranged. Pilate grew up to be an impoverished but resilient and independent woman, while Macon Jr. centered his attention on wealth accumulation, earning him scorn from both his family and tenants.

By his thirties, Milkman yearns for liberation from his family home. Macon Jr. informs him about a potential fortune that Pilate might have hidden in her dilapidated abode. Aided by his close friend, Guitar Bains, Milkman steals from Pilate, only to discover rocks and a human skeleton later identified as his grandfather, Macon Dead I. Guitar is disheartened because he had hoped to use the money to finance his mission for the Seven Days, a covert group seeking retribution for wrongs done to African-Americans. During his quest for his family's past, Milkman encounters Circe, an elderly midwife who tells him that his grandfather's original name was Jake and he was married to an Indian girl named Sing. His exploration leads him to Shalimar, his grandfather's ancestral home in Virginia, where he uncovers the fact that his great-grandfather was the legendary flying African, Solomon, who escaped slavery by flying back to Africa, leaving his wife and twenty-one children behind. Despite the tragedy, Milkman gains a sense of purpose and becomes a mature and compassionate man. Upon returning home, he finds that Hagar had passed away, and his family's emotional troubles persist. Nevertheless, he returns to Shalimar with Pilate to bury Jake's bones, where Pilate is hit by a bullet intended for Milkman. Crushed by Pilate's death, but rejuvenated by his transformation, Milkman confronts Guitar.

Song of Solomon

Canción de Salomón

In 1873, Cincinnati, Ohio, a past slave, Sethe, stays with her 18-year-old daughter, Denver. Sethe's mother-in-law, Baby Suggs, had lived with them until her death eight years prior. Before Baby Suggs’ demise, Sethe's two sons, Howard and Buglar, had left home. Sethe thinks they were scared off by a malicious ghost that had tormented their home for years. Denver, on the other hand, is fond of the ghost, believed to be her deceased sister's spirit. One day, Paul D, an old acquaintance from Sethe's days on Mr. Garner’s Sweet Home plantation in Kentucky, shows up. His visit triggers suppressed memories in Sethe's mind, and from this point forward, the narrative alternates between the present in Cincinnati and past events in Kentucky, revealed through the characters' fragmented flashbacks.

Sethe, the central character, hails from the Southern States, born to an African mother she never met. At age 13, she was sold to the Garners, who operated Sweet Home and offered a somewhat gentler form of slavery. Other male slaves desired Sethe but never dared to touch her. Their names were Sixo, Paul D, Paul A, Paul F, and Halle. Sethe chose to marry Halle, partly because of his kindness in purchasing his mother's freedom. They had two children, Howard and Buglar, and a baby daughter whose name was never revealed. When Sethe left Sweet Home, she was pregnant with her fourth child. After owner Mr. Garner's death, his widow, Mrs. Garner, enlisted her cruel and racist brother-in-law, known as the 'schoolteacher,' to help manage the plantation. His tyranny forced the slaves to plot an escape.

The 'schoolteacher' and his nephews, however, foiled the slaves' getaway, capturing Paul D and Sixo. The schoolteacher murdered Sixo and returned Paul D to Sweet Home, where Paul D saw Sethe, whom he thought he'd never see again. Despite being violated by the schoolteacher's nephews who stole her breastmilk, Sethe was determined to escape. Her husband, Halle, who had witnessed the event, was left in a state of shock and despair. After Sethe reported the incident to Mrs. Garner, the schoolteacher whipped her, ignoring her pregnant state. Fatigued and injured, Sethe still escaped, and with the help of Amy Denver, a white girl who nursed her back to health and assisted in delivering her baby, Sethe made it to Cincinnati to reunite with her children.

In Cincinnati, Sethe enjoyed 28 peaceful days, until the schoolteacher reappeared, intending to take her and her children back. In a desperate attempt to save her children from a life of degrading slavery, she tried to kill them, but only her oldest daughter died. Sethe ensured her daughter's gravestone was engraved with "Beloved". After a short period in jail, a group of white abolitionists secured her release, and she returned to her home, now avoided by the community due to its past. Meanwhile, Paul D had endured hardship as part of a chain gang in Georgia before a lucky rainstorm allowed him to escape and eventually find his way back to Sethe in Cincinnati.

Upon Paul D's arrival, the series of events in the present time sequence begins. As Paul D moves in, he dispels the house's resident ghost, further isolating Denver. Sethe and Paul D's hopeful future together is disrupted when they encounter a peculiar young woman, Beloved, who many believe to be the embodied spirit of Sethe's deceased daughter. Beloved manipulates and controls Paul D, leading to his departure. In his absence, Sethe and Beloved's relationship intensifies, and Sethe becomes obsessive about pleasing Beloved. The situation worsens, prompting Denver to leave the house for the first time in twelve years in search of help. The community rallies to exorcise Beloved from the house, and in the ensuing confusion, Beloved vanishes. 

Following these events, Paul D returns to find Sethe, who has resigned herself to death, mourning Beloved. Sethe considers Beloved her greatest loss, but Paul D reassures her, stating, "You your best thing, Sethe." The novel concludes with a warning that this is a tale best forgotten as the town, and even the residents of the house, have erased Beloved from their memories as if she were a disturbing dream.

Beloved

Amada

In the wake of the Great Depression in Lorain, Ohio, two young girls, Claudia and Frieda MacTeer, live with their economically-challenged parents. Their household is also home to a boarder, Henry Washington, and a troubled girl named Pecola, who finds refuge there after her father attempts to destroy their family home. Pecola, who worships the conventional beauty of the white actress Shirley Temple, perceives herself as unpleasantly unattractive due to her complexion. 

When Pecola reunites with her family, her circumstances remain harsh. Her parents' relationship is marred by domestic violence, her father a drunkard, her mother distant. She also has a frequently runaway brother, Sammy. Pecola yearns for blue eyes, associating them with love and a better life. Her self-esteem takes constant blows from her surroundings, from the indifference of a local grocer, to the mockery of her peers, including a temporary friend, the fair-skinned Maureen. Pecola is wrongly accused of causing a feline's death, leading to further derogatory insults. 

Both of Pecola's parents have endured challenging pasts. Her mother, Pauline, crippled with a lame foot, feels lonely and finds escape in films that only enhance her self-perceived ugliness and the beauty-centric nature of romantic love. Her father, Cholly, abandoned in his youth and shamed by white men during his first sexual encounter, detaches himself from life, feeling imprisoned by his marriage. Cholly sexually assaults Pecola, leading to her pregnancy. When Pecola's baby is prematurely born and doesn't survive, Cholly flees and eventually dies in a workhouse. Pecola, having descended into insanity, convinces herself that she has achieved her heart's desire - the bluest eyes.

The Bluest Eye

El Ojo Más Azul

The Bottom, largely an African-American neighborhood located in the hills above the predominantly white, affluent zone of Medallion, Ohio, was deceitfully given to an ex-slave by his master, who convinced him that the hilly land was a blessing due to its proximity to heaven. Over time, the region became a thriving community, despite the deceit. Now, wealthy white individuals have their eyes on the land, threatening to demolish the community for a golf course. The war veteran, Shadrack, residing there, struggles to adjust post-war and invents 'National Suicide Day' as a way to cope with his fear of death, which the town eventually accepts.

The book contrasts the lives of two friends, Nel and Sula, who come from different backgrounds. Nel is raised in a strict, conventional household by her mother Helene, but questions the rigid lifestyle after meeting her unconventional grandmother Rochelle, a former prostitute. Sula's family, on the other hand, is seen as odd and promiscuous by the town due to the behaviors of her mother, Hannah, and grandmother Eva. Their house also serves as a residence for three boys and various boarders. Despite their differences, the girls form a strong bond during their teenage years. However, their friendship is tested when a tragic accident occurs, leading to the drowning of a local boy during a game initiated by Sula. They never disclose their involvement in the accident and start to drift apart when Sula's mother succumbs to fatal burns from a dress fire.

Following high school, Nel conforms to societal expectations, marrying, and becoming a mother. Sula, on the contrary, leads a life of fierce independence and open disregard for societal norms, leaving the Bottom for ten years and having several affairs, including ones with white men. Upon her return, she is stigmatized as evil, especially after having an affair with Nel's husband, Jude, who subsequently leaves Nel. Ironically, her presence unifies the community. A strained reconciliation occurs between Nel and Sula before the latter's death in 1940. The harmony in the Bottom dissolves with her death. By 1965, the threat of a golf course looms. Nel, visiting Eva in a nursing home, is accused of being complicit in the drowning of the local boy. This accusation prompts Nel to reevaluate her judgment of Sula and admit that she had too hastily adhered to societal norms to claim moral superiority. The narrative explores the themes of morality, relationships, race, and gender, resisting easy solutions and emphasizing the ambiguity and complexity of life.

Sula

At the heart of the narrative is a strained love triangle involving Violet, Joe, and Dorcas. Violet and Joe, a discontented married pair, share an apartment in Harlem when Joe becomes smitten with Dorcas, a girl of just seventeen. Their affair commences during a sales visit to Dorcas's aunt's place and lasts from October 1925 till the onset of 1926. Unbeknownst to Violet and Alice Manfred, Dorcas's aunt, Joe would meet Dorcas in a vacant apartment borrowed from Malvonne, their upstairs neighbor. Dorcas, however, grows weary of Joe's attentions and starts seeing younger men. When Joe confronts her, she expresses her disdain and urges him to stop bothering her. Despite her harsh words, Joe is unable to forget her, and when he finds her at a party with another man, Acton, he fatally shoots her. Following her death, their affair is revealed, and Violet, in a fit of grief, disfigures Dorcas's face at her funeral. Subsequently, Violet and Alice, bound by their shared loss, start visiting each other, while Joe mourns Dorcas. Eventually, Joe and Violet manage to mend their relationship, thanks in part to their newfound friendship with Felice, Dorcas's best friend.

As the story of the love triangle unfolds, the narrator delves into the past, painting a vivid picture of the characters' origins and their interconnected lives that date back to the late 19th century. Violet hails from a poverty-stricken family in Virginia, her mother committed suicide following Violet's father's abandonment, leaving her with her grandmother, True Belle. Joe, an orphan, was raised by a foster family in Virginia. He longed to know his birth mother and even thought he found her in Wild, a local homeless woman, but was left with more questions than answers. Joe and Violet crossed paths in a town named Palestine while working the fields and later relocated to Harlem, referred to as "the City" throughout the narrative.

In addition to Joe and Violet's story, the narrator weaves in the tales of secondary characters like Vera Louise Gray and her son Golden Gray, shedding light on the interconnectedness of their lives and experiences. Golden Gray, the biracial son of Vera Louise, a white woman, and Henry LesTroy, a Black slave, was raised by his mother and True Belle. Upon learning the truth about his parentage, Golden Gray decided to confront his father, leading him to cross paths with Wild, who was heavily pregnant with Joe at the time. Following the birth of Joe, Golden Gray decided to stay with Wild in the woods, completely isolated from society. The narrative frequently revisits these stories from Harlem and Virginia, providing further depth through flashbacks and digressions.

13 Best Toni Morrison Books of All Time

Song of Solomon

Beloved

The Bluest Eye

Sula

Jazz

A Mercy

Paradise

Tar Baby

The Source of Self-Regard

Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations

God Help the Child

Home

Love

A Novel

Playing in the Dark

Whiteness and the Literary Imagination

Sources

What To Read Next

13 Best Toni Morrison Books of All Time

Song of Solomon

Beloved

The Bluest Eye

Sula

Jazz

A Mercy

Paradise

Tar Baby

The Source of Self-Regard

Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations

God Help the Child

Home

Love

A Novel

Playing in the Dark

Whiteness and the Literary Imagination

Sources

What To Read Next

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