african american literature – Crook In A Book

If you’ve been following along, you know by now that I’m a huge Toni Morrison fan, and I’ve slowly been making my way through all of her novels. Jazz is the latest on the list and, as always, Toni Morrison creates some very complex and compelling characters in this novel – characters you simultaneously criticize and sympathize with, characters that feel like real people. And, also typical of Toni Morrison, this novel touches on some very big topics: race, class, love, trust, and forgiveness, to name a few.

However, I have to admit that this is probably my least favorite Morrison novel so far. Though at times I was thoroughly entertained and couldn’t put the book down, there were other times when the writing felt slow and meandering. Basically, in terms of plot, I didn’t find this one quite as compelling as books such as Beloved or Sula. So, I might not recommend starting with this Morrison novel if you’re new to her work.

Having only read If Beale Street Could Talk, I’ve been eager to get to more of Baldwin’s work for a long time, and was excited to pull Go Tell It On The Mountain off the shelf. And while I have to admit that while I found Beale Street a bit more riveting of a narrative, the thematic complexity of Go Tell It On The Mountain is unmatched.

One could spend hours and hours unpacking the racial, gendered, and religious power dynamics that play out between characters in this novel – it’s the kind of book that makes you want a class or a reading group to discuss it with, the kind that prompts me to look up podcasts and articles that analyze it.

And the fact that this is a semi-autobiographical novel makes it even more troubling, painful, and powerful. The fact that it was Baldwin’s first novel makes it even more impressive.

Finally, I want to mention that although, as I’ve mentioned earlier, this wasn’t quite as spell-binding as Beale Street (I found it a little slow at times), I also want to mention that this narrative develops in a way that is really unexpected and yet, realistic. With Go Tell It On The Mountain, Baldwin once again uses his craft to offer an insightful perspective of race, religion, gender, sexuality, and class in America.

Get the book through a local or independent publisher, HERE.

I have never read a novel by Toni Morrison that wasn’t worth raving about. And yet, I have found that my favorites are not the same ones that get all the hype. Most of us have read, or at least heard of, The Bluest Eye and Beloved. But my favorites have tended to be Morrison’s lesser-known works, including Sula and Song of Solomon.

And Love falls in the latter category. Though not her most popular work, this might be one of Morrison’s best, in my humble opinion. On the surface, this is the story of a friendship between two women that has eroded over decades, but of course it is so much more than that. This novel really highlights the complex, unexpected, and shifting nature of love – of love between friends, between siblings, between lovers and spouses, between parents and children. And it’s about the impacts these relationships have on a community over time.

But what really amazes me about this novel is Toni Morrison’s incredible skill with subtly. Because when I’ve talked with others about this novel, the words “hate” and “anger” come far up far more frequently than “love” or “joy.” But without spoiling anything in the story, the final chapter starts to peel back the ways in which, throughout the entire novel, Morrison has been writing about love with great intention, subtlety, and scrutiny.

I am left thinking of all kinds of love, the way it changes over time, the power it has to hurt or heal. And what is more beautiful and memorable than a book that leaves you thinking about love?

Eager to read this one? Get the book from an independent bookshop HERE.

I’m so late to the game in getting to Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel, Homegoing. And I have to admit, it was not at all what I expected.

In a panel earlier this week, I heard an editor from a prestigious publishing house say that, when it comes to positioning a book, the publishing industry tends to pigeonhole writers into certain categories and that often, their race or heritage plays a role in creating that (often quite biased and racist) definition. I can’t help but thinkin about these comments in relation to Homegoing, given all the reviews that assert “[Toni Morrison’s] influence is palpable” (Vogue) and that Gyasi is “Carrying on in the tradition of her foremothers – like Toni Morrison […]”.

And while certainly Gyasi touches on similar subject matter to Toni Morrison, reviewers who have drawn comparisons to Alex Haley’s Roots or Chinua Achebe’s work feel more apt to me. But I would have added less-obvious comparisons to the list: the epic, intergenerational story that Gyasi has crafted so vividly and so artfully in Homegoing reminds me of Allende’s House of Spirits and even Ken Follet’s Century Trilogy (though of course, much shorter).

The reason I bother to parse out all these comparisons is because I think what Gyasi does so well in this novel (which I should say, I really enjoyed!) is create a thread between generations. And at the same time, she gives readers enough familiarity with each generation that those threads are easy to follow and you can’t help but care deeply for characters even when they appear only for a chapter or two. I found myself wondering how I could care so deeply for a character within a few short pages, and came to the conclusion that was because of this “thread” Gyasi weaves through the narrative. As with our personal ancestry or bloodlines, when we consider the events of generations past, we inherit some of their trauma and injustices, some of their pride and beliefs. It lives on within us and makes us care about that thread. I think that is an incredibly powerful and difficult message to demonstrate through literature but Gyasi, even in her debut novel, has proven herself up to the challenge.

Are you a fan of intergenerational narratives? Did you enjoy Gyasi’s 250-year-long thread? Let me know what you thought about Homegoing in the comments below.

Keep Reading:

Isabel Wilkerson’s fantastic review of Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing. Warning! Spoiler alert!

Finished Homegoing? Loved it? Ready for more? Try Yaa Gyasi’s latest novel: Transcendent Kingdom

Get the book.

Tag: african american literature

Book Review: Jazz, by Toni Morrison

James Baldwin, “Go Tell It On The Mountain”

Love. By Toni Morrison. Love. Love. Love.

Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi