Post by Taika of Narfell on Jan 6, 2007 5:27:06 GMT 1
I usually have some point of criticism for a book - often far more than one, and often they're quite harsh. This time, however, I have to give up. The only thing I can construe to be something worth criticising is a few errors in the set. Where the author has split a word to make a nice-looking line the hyphen is still there, though the word is in the middle of the line in what is obviously a different format than it was first typed for. Thus we get such interesting hyphenations as success-ful, fa-mily and tes-timony. But those cannot be construed to affect the quality of the book in general nor the writing in particular.
Taking place in a small provinsial black community in USA from the 40s till now this book paints an amazing picture of generations and how society changed the generations and changed around them.
From the back of the book:
"May, Christine, Heed, Junior, Vida - even L - all er women obsessed by Bill Cosey. He shapes their yearnings for a father, husband, lover, guardian, and friend.
This audacious vision of the nature of love - its appetite, its sublime possession, and its dread - is rich in characters and dramatic events. Sensual, elegiac and unforgettable, Love reflects the different facets of love, shifting from desire and lust and ultimately comes full circle to that indelible, overwhelming first love that marks us forever."
When I saw this book at an airport bookshop I was already familiar with Toni Morrison's writing - I'd read Song of Solomon for university, and I had decided I liked said writing of hers. So when Love was standing there at a very cheap price I couldn't pass it by.
Now, more than a year later I must say I'm very glad I bought it. It is a short book - only 234 pages - but it is intense and breath-taking all the way through. As it say in the back-cover blurb it explores the different facets of love; it does so in a way that not only do I feel I've read about love, I actually feel that Morrison has put some of that love down on paper. It is not just a narrative of "then they fell in love", this book moreso pictures a state of mind than anything else.
Most of the book is told in third person narrative with passages following one person exclusively, but the passages are brief and we never get the whole story. There is always something left unsaid, a detail the person we're following would rather we didn't know. And once in a while these narratives are punctuated with 1st person narratives always from the same woman. A woman whose identity we don't know until the third (I think) passage about her, and a woman whose fate in present times is not revealed before it comes in a side-note remark in a passage not at all about her.
This is indeed a vision, and I must compliment Morrison on her artful handling of such a broad subject as love. There are so many facets, and yet she manages to get them all down on paper in this short, tragic tale. And tragic it is, ripe with lost souls and wasted lives, not to mention the used and abused people, the tragedy of whom become clearer the more we read. And yet, though there is much tragedy and horrible fates presented here, it is not a sad book, not once did I have to reach for the tissues, because no matter how wrong the actions of some of the characters, no matter how horribly unfair their lives were, the focus is still love.
That all-encompassing feeling that will make a person throw away everything else, even ruin their life just for the person the feeling is directed towards. Though the consequences are described here, it is still the rush and enjoyment of the feeling that takes centre-stage.
I can only recommend this book. I will warn, though, that there are some nasty topics popping up briefly, that some might find unsuitable for younger readers. Rape and child brides are the most flagrant of them, but all still described vaguely and not what I'd call offensive or at all unsuitable for anyone over the age of 13.
What with being so short it is a fairly quick read. I read it in less than 24 hours, even with breaks between each chapter to digest that latest part of the journey (insomnia helped too), and I will recommend it to anyone who wants to read some serious literature without getting involved with a brick of a book. It is an easy read, the language is flowing and not at all advanced, and the characters are compelling and convincing. It will grip you.
Taking place in a small provinsial black community in USA from the 40s till now this book paints an amazing picture of generations and how society changed the generations and changed around them.
From the back of the book:
"May, Christine, Heed, Junior, Vida - even L - all er women obsessed by Bill Cosey. He shapes their yearnings for a father, husband, lover, guardian, and friend.
This audacious vision of the nature of love - its appetite, its sublime possession, and its dread - is rich in characters and dramatic events. Sensual, elegiac and unforgettable, Love reflects the different facets of love, shifting from desire and lust and ultimately comes full circle to that indelible, overwhelming first love that marks us forever."
When I saw this book at an airport bookshop I was already familiar with Toni Morrison's writing - I'd read Song of Solomon for university, and I had decided I liked said writing of hers. So when Love was standing there at a very cheap price I couldn't pass it by.
Now, more than a year later I must say I'm very glad I bought it. It is a short book - only 234 pages - but it is intense and breath-taking all the way through. As it say in the back-cover blurb it explores the different facets of love; it does so in a way that not only do I feel I've read about love, I actually feel that Morrison has put some of that love down on paper. It is not just a narrative of "then they fell in love", this book moreso pictures a state of mind than anything else.
Most of the book is told in third person narrative with passages following one person exclusively, but the passages are brief and we never get the whole story. There is always something left unsaid, a detail the person we're following would rather we didn't know. And once in a while these narratives are punctuated with 1st person narratives always from the same woman. A woman whose identity we don't know until the third (I think) passage about her, and a woman whose fate in present times is not revealed before it comes in a side-note remark in a passage not at all about her.
This is indeed a vision, and I must compliment Morrison on her artful handling of such a broad subject as love. There are so many facets, and yet she manages to get them all down on paper in this short, tragic tale. And tragic it is, ripe with lost souls and wasted lives, not to mention the used and abused people, the tragedy of whom become clearer the more we read. And yet, though there is much tragedy and horrible fates presented here, it is not a sad book, not once did I have to reach for the tissues, because no matter how wrong the actions of some of the characters, no matter how horribly unfair their lives were, the focus is still love.
That all-encompassing feeling that will make a person throw away everything else, even ruin their life just for the person the feeling is directed towards. Though the consequences are described here, it is still the rush and enjoyment of the feeling that takes centre-stage.
I can only recommend this book. I will warn, though, that there are some nasty topics popping up briefly, that some might find unsuitable for younger readers. Rape and child brides are the most flagrant of them, but all still described vaguely and not what I'd call offensive or at all unsuitable for anyone over the age of 13.
What with being so short it is a fairly quick read. I read it in less than 24 hours, even with breaks between each chapter to digest that latest part of the journey (insomnia helped too), and I will recommend it to anyone who wants to read some serious literature without getting involved with a brick of a book. It is an easy read, the language is flowing and not at all advanced, and the characters are compelling and convincing. It will grip you.