Song of Solomon: A Novel

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An official Oprah Winfrey’s “The Books That Help Me Through” selection • The acclaimed Nobel Prize winner transfigures the coming-of-age story with this brilliantly imagined novel. Includes a new foreword by the author.

One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years

Milkman Dead was born shortly after a neighborhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight. For the rest of his life he, too, will be trying to fly. As Morrison follows Milkman from his rustbelt city to the place of his family’s origins, she introduces an entire cast of strivers and seeresses, liars and assassins, the inhabitants of a fully realized Black world.

“Morrison moves easily in and out of the lives and thoughts of her characters, luxuriating in the diversity of circumstances and personality, and revelling in the sound of their voices and of her own, which echoes and elaborates theirs.” —The New Yorker

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Published Jun 8, 2004

368 pages

Average rating: 7.48

487 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Song of Solomon* is a richly written novel with complex, memorable characters and deep themes that challenge readers. Many praise Toni Mo...

Doll Face
Mar 06, 2025
5/10 stars
The book starts out strong; really capturing your attention. There were some laugh-out-loud moments as well. I became invested in the story and in the characters, as their individual subplots were tying in together nicely. [Cons:] However, the ending seemed rushed, as if her editor was saying, "I need those pages now!" The more interesting subplots are not explored or explained at all, while others that I felt could have been left out completed were dragged out. The ending goes completely left. It doesn't even read as if the same person wrote it. I would not recommend this book only because the last 1/4 of it is not cohesive. It's like reading the beginning of one book and the ending of a completely different book. Also, not one of my favorite authors, so you may want to take that into consideration as well.
nstoltzman
Mar 02, 2023
4/10 stars
Very, VERY overwritten. Got boring in the middle. Good book, but too long. Unnecessary story line that only added to confusion.
cathljones159
Feb 10, 2022
6/10 stars
We had mixed reviews for The Secret History. Overall we would give it between 2 & 3 stars. The book was engaging and the writing was well done, but there were parts we felt were overwritten.
augusthz
Mar 24, 2023
10/10 stars
dark academia, writing style, and the characters. the vibe surrounding the story and the beauty of each word written. needless i say more?
Natlamm
Feb 16, 2023
2/10 stars
What a long-winded story with insufferable characters. This one was not for me

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