Reading 1001 discussion

Read 2012
Toni Morrison deserves her accolades and Nobel Prize in Literature. What a gifted writer. Song of Solomon is a story of the Dead family and specifically Milkman Dead or Macon Dead III. It is set in Michigan but also covers Danville, Pennsylvania and Shalimar, Virginia. Milkman is the only son born to Ruth and Macon and brought about by a spell prescribed by his aunt Pilate. From Milkman’s conception it seems someone always wants him dead. The epigraph of the story is The novel's epigraph reads, "The fathers may soar/ And the children may know their names." This book explores the importance of names but also connecting with your family history and personal self awareness and growth. The story starts with Milkman’s birth with the “flight” of an insurance man from the hospital roof and the theme of flight is followed through the book as a means of escape. The use of flying as literal pushes this work into the magical realism genre. Names are very interesting in this book and have layers of meaning such as pealing an onion. Milkman’s aunt Pilate, named from the Bible’s Pilate is also significant for her role of piloting Milkman on his journey to self discovery. This novel is very rich in detail but also extremely readable and enjoyable. This book won the National Books Critics Award, was chosen for Oprah Winfrey's popular book club, and was cited by the Swedish Academy in awarding Morrison the 1993 Nobel Prize in literature.

Great review, Kristel - I loved this novel!!

It's been awhile since I've read something by Toni Morrison and I love most of what I've read by her. I'd previously read Beloved , The Bluest Eye, Sula, and Home. I was excited when I saw that one of the Reading Women 2020 Challenge tasks was to read a book by Toni Morrison. I picked Song of Solomon in part because (according to goodreads) it is the most popular Morrison book that I hadn't read yet.

This had everything I loved about Morrison: lyrical prose, magical realism, deep family connections, strong characters. The central character in this book is Milkman Dead. He travels from the city where he lives to the small town where his family traces their roots to. Throughout his journey and the course of the book we meet members of his family and others. Excellent story telling as usual from Morrison.

Tend to big a big fan of Toni Morrison, and this book was no exception. I gave it 4 stars. It's amazing how she's able to instill the sense of the biblical and the epic into stories of the 19th-20th century African American experience- especially in the context of people who would have been voiceless or overlooked as worth hearing from in their time.

In making all of these biblical allusions it not only lends the sense of importance and worth to the reader about these stories, but also lends a gravity to both the struggles and hard won successes of the characters.

This is my favorite of Morrison's books that I have read. I first read it in a college mythology class and wish I still had some of the notes from those discussions as I reread it this month. I appreciated the Biblical names and allusions as well as the intertwining of the family history.

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
4 stars

This is my 4th book by the author and I still enjoy her writing. Song of Solomon is about many things; family, genealogy, sense of self and what’s in a name. I found the unique names to be the best part of the novel. I enjoyed Milkman’s journey especially when he went south to find his ancestors.

“Papa was in his teens and went to sign up, but the man behind the desk was drunk. He asked Papa where he was born. Papa said Macon. Then he asked him who his father was. Papa said, ‘He’s dead.’ Asked him who owned him, Papa said, ‘I’m free.’ Well, the Yankee wrote it all down, but in the wrong spaces. Had him born in Dunfrie, where the hell that is, and in the space for his name the fool wrote, ‘Dead’ comma ‘Macon.’ But Papa couldn’t read so he never found out what he was registered as till Mama told him.

“His mother had been portrayed not as a mother who simply adored her only son, but as an obscene child playing dirty games with whatever male was near - be it her father or her son.”

“For example, I live in the North now. So the first question come to mind is North of what? Why, north of the South. So North exists because South does But does that mean North is different from South? No way! South is just south of North…”

I love Toni Morrison's writing. Her descriptions and verbal rhythms are musical. Her ability to give her readers a full world that her characters move through is so rich and rewarding. I especially like her ability to use but nevertheless control her magical realism. The characters are changed by circumstances in their lives which may or may not include events and persons still alive or long dead, but it is the change that is important.
I had marked this book as read long ago but I put it on my TBR list as I remembered very clearly not liking the book, the only one of her novels that I had not liked, and thought I better read it again. Then it came up on my Random Challenge list. Clearly I was meant to reread it.
I had a clear memory of the plot and why I didn't like it. However, in this second reading I realized I either had never read this book before or read it when I was out of my mind because NOTHING aligned with my memory. Not even the barest hint of a memory.
I really loved the Biblical references and the play on names and the underlying notion that people were capable of flying. However what I really appreciated was Milkman's changes and realizations.