Beloved: Pulitzer Prize Winner

Personally, I was not a fan of this book at all because I was confused majority of the time reading it. The transitions from the present to the past and between different characters didn't allow for a clear reader experience. The language and beautifully drawn out era and locations lend some credit to how good of an author Morrison can be. I will not discredit her but because of how this book came together as a whole It was difficult to enjoy.

I was not convinced at first but the more I read the better it got. It’s one of those books where the plot is not linear- there are lots of jump back and forth in time to tell the backstory of different characters, and things are revealed so gradually that you don’t really realize you are hooked before you are. What I loved is how random details are dropped that are just odd enough to make them stick out, and then later on it will turn out they are actually vital to the plot and characters. Specifically the names like Baby Suggs and Stamp Paid. When we get their backstories after going most of the way through the books, it is incredible. The timing of all the reveals is exquisite. It like wondering, did I hear that right? And then it is confirmed and it makes your jaw drop. I listened to the audiobook read by Morrison herself and I think it helped me understand the book better because she reads it slow and takes her time. The narration has almost a sleepy or dreamy quality, which works really well to set the tone of the book. This is one I am really grateful that book club made me read! Even up to 50-60% of the way through the book I wasn’t sure if I would finish it because it is hard to read, but then after I got so far in I just had to finish it to see what happened.

Very powerful book. It was a bit hard for me to track due to the shifting narration, but a must read and a true classic

Esta novela de la ganadora del Premio Nobel de Literatura en 1993, Toni Morrisson, es, a mi juicio, un referente ineludible no solamente de la literatura estadounidense, sino de las letras universales. Compleja de leer desde la perspectiva narratológica, pero una vez el relato va avanzando la dinámica va mejorando notablemente. Es una novela en donde el qué, a pesar de ser esencial, no es tan importante como el cómo. A partir de dos planos cronológicos no secuenciales la novela cuenta la historia de una esclava, Sethe, que en 1873 debe convivir con el fantasma de una hija que ella misma ha matado diez y ocho años atrás para evitarle el sufrimiento de ser esclava y tener que padecer lo que ella tuvo que vivir. La novela está narrada a partir de una tercera persona, con varias intervenciones en primera persona, incluso a partir de la técnica del flujo de conciencia. Los puntos de vista y la manera íntima como la historia se va desvelando nos va presentando la importancia de la memoria y el olvido, o mejor la desmemoria, porque los personajes necesitan aislar sus recuerdos para poder vivir, pero en la medida en la que no enfrenten el trauma no van a lograr seguir adelante. Al mismo tiempo es un homenaje a las personas que tuvieron que padecer la esclavitud, es también una ruptura con la manera como se cuentan las historias. También es una historia muy femenina en la que percibimos flujos constantemente (leche, sangre, agua); es una narración sensual, corporal incluso más allá de la muerte. Es una evocación a lo femenino y la vulnerabilidad de las esclavas, pero también es un relato de amor infinito.

Heartbreaking