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Toni Morrison Explained: A Reader's Road Map to the Novels
Navigate the complex terrain of Toni Morrison's novels with the clear guidance and contagious enthusiasm of Ron David.
Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison is a much-read and much-loved author -- but her books are often difficult to understand and frustrating for even her most ardent fans. Now Ron David has drawn a clear road map through Morrison's novels, outlining themes within and across books, clarifying plot lines, and opening Morrison's world to all readers.
Conversational in tone, thoughtful, and chock-full of eurekas, Ron David's easy-to-follow guide to Toni Morrison's novels will be welcomed by reading groups, students, and Toni Morrison fans everywhere.
Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison is a much-read and much-loved author -- but her books are often difficult to understand and frustrating for even her most ardent fans. Now Ron David has drawn a clear road map through Morrison's novels, outlining themes within and across books, clarifying plot lines, and opening Morrison's world to all readers.
Conversational in tone, thoughtful, and chock-full of eurekas, Ron David's easy-to-follow guide to Toni Morrison's novels will be welcomed by reading groups, students, and Toni Morrison fans everywhere.
224 pages, Paperback
First published April 18, 2000
9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 3, 2018
Toni Morrison was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. She was also an American novelist, essayist, editor, teacher, and professor emeritus at Princeton University. Ron David has presented his thoughts on Morrison in his book, “Toni Morrison Explained”.
The book is a good overview although not a literary critique, or in depth look into her life. David’s approach is chatty, with a lot of talking about what she accomplished or failed to. He offers thoughts on the meaning of some of her best-known books: Song of Solomon, The Bluest Eyes, Sula, Tar Baby, Beloved, and more.
Morrison’s writings reflect her own views of the bible and its doctrines, as well as her use of music and myth to make her thoughts clearer and resonate. David offers a range of interpretations to Morrisons work and is well worth reading even if you have already read her works.
In a 1988 interview Morrison answered a question on feminism. She was asked why she didn’t identify her works as feminist in a 1998 interview. She replied: "In order to be as free as I possibly can, in my own imagination, I can't take positions that are closed. Everything I've ever done, in the writing world, has been to expand articulation, rather than to close it, to open doors, sometimes, not even closing the book – leaving the endings open for reinterpretation, re visitation, a little ambiguity." She went on to state that she thought it "off-putting to some readers, who may feel that I'm involved in writing some kind of feminist tract. I don't subscribe to patriarchy, and I don't think it should be substituted with matriarchy. I think it's a question of equitable access, and opening doors to all sorts of things."
The question on feminism is an example of the depth of thought Morrison brought to her writings and if all we had was the overview of David’s book on the subjects of her writings, we would have missed a lot.
Morrison is an intellectual force and Ron David’s book is very good in what it does, but alone it would be inadequate in understanding Toni Morrison. More on this book and on Toni Morrison at web site www.connectedeventsmatter.com
The book is a good overview although not a literary critique, or in depth look into her life. David’s approach is chatty, with a lot of talking about what she accomplished or failed to. He offers thoughts on the meaning of some of her best-known books: Song of Solomon, The Bluest Eyes, Sula, Tar Baby, Beloved, and more.
Morrison’s writings reflect her own views of the bible and its doctrines, as well as her use of music and myth to make her thoughts clearer and resonate. David offers a range of interpretations to Morrisons work and is well worth reading even if you have already read her works.
In a 1988 interview Morrison answered a question on feminism. She was asked why she didn’t identify her works as feminist in a 1998 interview. She replied: "In order to be as free as I possibly can, in my own imagination, I can't take positions that are closed. Everything I've ever done, in the writing world, has been to expand articulation, rather than to close it, to open doors, sometimes, not even closing the book – leaving the endings open for reinterpretation, re visitation, a little ambiguity." She went on to state that she thought it "off-putting to some readers, who may feel that I'm involved in writing some kind of feminist tract. I don't subscribe to patriarchy, and I don't think it should be substituted with matriarchy. I think it's a question of equitable access, and opening doors to all sorts of things."
The question on feminism is an example of the depth of thought Morrison brought to her writings and if all we had was the overview of David’s book on the subjects of her writings, we would have missed a lot.
Morrison is an intellectual force and Ron David’s book is very good in what it does, but alone it would be inadequate in understanding Toni Morrison. More on this book and on Toni Morrison at web site www.connectedeventsmatter.com
November 29, 2010
Since David's motivation, as stated in his "Introduction," is to explain Morrison's novel "Paradise" and to show how all of the critics totally misread this book, it only makes sense to read it after one has read "Paradise." David's analyses of Morrison's earlier books are included to help the reader work up gradually to Morrison's most difficult book. Having read every novel Morrison has written so far, I have to say I was impressed by the seriousness with which David takes TM, the care he takes with his readings of her books, and the risky conclusion he comes to about "Paradise." The only objection I have to the book is that David's "street-talking" style begins to grate, and seems at times inappropriate to the seriousness of his points.
August 3, 2010
The introduction makes this book sound very promising. The author warns that he doesn't believe in any one correct "explanation" of a novel and that he intends his work as a way of encouraging readers to engage more fully with Morrison's works, not to accept everything the critics say without question, and to formulate their own interpretations of the texts. Since I loved the Morrison novels I've already read (_The Bluest Eye_, _Song of Solomon_, _Beloved_, and _Jazz_), I'm excited to see what R. David has to say about them. I think I'll skip the chapters on the books I haven't read yet so that I don't get upset by any spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews