Song of Solomon Summary

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.