From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books…

Beloved

Toni Morrison

Start date: June 1, 2012

Finish date: June 30, 2012

Discussion: Group Reads Discussions

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 405 topics — 3,825 comments total

Group Reads Discussions

This topic has been closed to new comments.

* Links to Group Read Discussions
By Diane , Armchair Tour Guide · 3 posts · 1370 views

last updated Jan 18, 2013 07:12PM

I've Been Waiting
By Carole · 1 post · 13 views

last updated Sep 16, 2025 07:57PM

What Members Thought

Nov 06, 2011 Lindsey Z rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

No words in all of literature have ever struck and moved me like those of Toni Morrison. At its heart, Beloved is a literary resurrection of slavery as a means to say that its effects on the American psyche endure today. Through the representation of America's dark past as the ghost of Beloved, Morrison so eloquently proclaims that slavery and all of its nastiness are not dead and probably never will be. If you've never read a slave narrative, I would suggest starting there; my suggestions are t No words in all of literature have ever struck and moved me like those of Toni Morrison. At its heart, Beloved is a literary resurrection of slavery as a means to say that its effects on the American psyche endure today. Through the representation of America's dark past as the ghost of Beloved, Morrison so eloquently proclaims that slavery and all of its nastiness are not dead and probably never will be. If you've never read a slave narrative, I would suggest starting there; my suggestions are those of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Mary Prince, and/or Olaudah Equiano. And learning at least some cursory history of the slave trade and the brutal, yet lawfully and morally justified practice of enslavement, will help orient you to the novel's historical context and larger themes. In her talk "The Site of Memory," which is now published as an article, Morrison explains that she draws inspiration from the literary tradition of slave narratives and that her intention in writing Beloved was to depict the interior lives of enslaved people, a facet of their experiences that was often left or edited out of slave narratives, either because they had to distance themselves from the emotionality of being enslaved because it was too traumatic to express, or because their stories were controlled by white abolitionists appealing to a primarily white, female, Christian audience whose sensibilities couldn't have handled knowing the real story of slavery. And so, in effect, Morrison's novel is a revisioning of history, a retelling of a story we all think we know already but don't actually know.

The ghost of Beloved appears early on in the novel--we come to find out that she's been there all along, making a fuss around the house before she even appears in the form of a woman--and sucks the life out of all of the places and people she comes into contact with. She is a visceral and fleshy reminder that slavery might be historically in the past but it's not psychologically in the past. Morrison's novel is a narrative telling of the sociological and psychological concept that trauma is passed down from generation to generation and that people can experience memories of trauma--which is like experiencing the trauma first hand--without having been alive at the time it look place. Through her concept of rememory, Morrison advises us that even African Americans today, who may not even know their family history of enslavement in this country, can experience the traumas of enslavement. New forms of slavery like prison work camps and more contemporary forms of prison labor serve to perpetuate violence against Black bodies and continue the work of suppressing the emotional interior of Black people. After years of silence and suppression, the unadulterated expression of emotion of Morrison's characters forms the backbone of her story. We see these people at their rawest, their most vulnerable, their most human.

Morrison reclaims the humanity of enslaved Black people, people who, if we were to only read historical documents about slavery from the perspective of enslavers like Thomas Jefferson, are only acknowledged as property, as baser than animals. Baby Suggs, through her sermons at the clearing about self-love, serves as the community's spiritual guide. She advises, "And all your inside parts that they'd just as soon slop for hogs, you got to love them. [...] More than your life-holding womb and your life-giving private parts, hear me now, love your heart. For this is the prize." Morrison bases Sethe off of a historical figure who she read about in a newspaper; she is a fierce example of the depths of motherly love and sacrifice.

Morrison does all of this important work of reclamation and retelling with such eloquence and an unparalleled mastery of the English language. Her prose is mesmerizing, rhythmic, highly emotional, and taut. Her use of images and, as she calls them, "pictures" creates a full sensory reading experience. My heart breaks on almost every page and is swiftly repaired on almost every page, too. This is one of the (if not the) best American novels ever written. If you are to understand anything about the founding of this country, you must understand how it was done at the expense of the bodies and the humanity of enslaved Africans. This novel is a remarkable and poignant acknowledgment of the sacrifices that enslaved people had no choice but to make in order to merely survive, and a celebration of their incessant attempts to be seen as human. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 18, 2020 Linda Martin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, fiction, families, 2020, historical-fiction, geo-alabama, child-welfare, geo-ohio

As soon as I finished this novel, I thought, "This is what a novel should be." It is stunning, and life changing.

It is such a good book, I don't even want to say anything about it. I want to walk away speechless. Don't want to give a spoiler. Don't want to spoil the surprise of it in any way. There's so much to think about here, but I want to think slowly, privately.

I read this for the 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge, or should I say, listened to it. The audiobook is narrated by the author. Ver ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 25, 2024 Keeley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: series-next-of-kin, penguin-random-house, sjp-ala-book-club

This book felt like a molasses dream. The kind where you're trying to run but your limbs are so slow and heavy you don't seem to be getting anywhere. There's multiple levels of haunting in this book, and a ghost would be the least terrifying of them. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 17, 2016 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: the-great-american-read

(I don't think I took away much from this book....I've been thinking all these years---it's 2016 now---that I have never read this book, and I didn't write down anything in my notes about it.) ...more

1 like · Like · see review