Men and women experience love and obsess about love in many, many different ways. Toni Morrison explores the multifaceted nature of love in this short but deftly written novel. The central figure is Bill Cosey, and yet he is already dead and gone when the story begins. Bill, a good bad man or a bad good man, is the object of desire, love, obsession for all the female characters. His actions for good and for bad determine the course of their lives. But he is revealed as a less than perfect idol, whose influence is close to malevolent. Child brides, adultery, bribery, corruption, they all fit into the Cosey way of life. It is only at the end of the book that his influence wanes and suddenly those he has controlled find that they have their own minds and that love is not what it seemed.

I am a Toni Morrison fan, but I struggled with some parts of this book. The writing was great but at times it obscured the plot and I found I had to reread to find out what was going on!

2 stars. It had potential but maybe this time she was trying too hard.