Customer Reviews

Song of Solomon

5 star:		(113)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I found this book to be as enjoyable and substantial as a tub of Crisco. At first glance, the product appears appetizing and delectable. Try it, however, and you will find that it is vulgar, crass, and leaves an annoying aftertaste that you just can't shake. Oprah Winfrey's book club discussion notes that Milkman's journey south is an odyssey worthy of Homer and that the importance of names is a prevalent theme in the novel. I name this novel "Hogwash" and suggest that Milkman's final destination should be your closest landfill.

This book lacks the material necessary to warrant the time to read this book. This book attempts to make a point, but falls extremly short. The material is vulgar and inappropriate for younger readers. This book lacks the quality to keep the readers interest throughout the book. The names atempt to make a symbolic meaning, but openly contradicts itself thoughout. Furthermore,the book gives unrealistic portaryals of the people of the time period and the setting. I take direct offence from this book and the contents therein.

Song of Solomon fits well into the classic Toni Morrison genre of heart-wrenchingly poetic and painfully beautiful stories, but it is a bit different from her other works at the same time. The main character of this novel is a male, but the deeper thematic undercurrents channel strongly towards feminism (or in this case womanism, black women's feminism). It's a story of finding yourself and your roots, your true name. The story follows a North to South journey for a young black man. Filled with symbolism and mythology, the novel is rich and engrossing. The motif is based on old stories of African American slaves who shed their bonds and flew back to Africa. Your interpretation of this novel will lead you in one of two directions: did they fly or did they perish? The novel poses this question to you in an eloquent and beautiful way. In the end, your interpretation of this novel may tell you something about yourself and what you believe in.

Even though it is beautifully written, this book is not for everyone, because some might find searching for the meaning tedius. However, I highly recommend this book if you like searching for a meaning. On the top, the story told is wonderful. Under the surface, the message of love and finding your family roots is outstanding. This is a great book for someone who is struggling to find who they are. I was reminded of McCrae's "The Bark of the Dogwood--A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens," or perhaps "The Color Purple" in that the characters have to really go through a lot before they find themselves. Such is the case with "I Know." Morrison generally writes in this style of an underlying message, and it keeps her readers intrigued until the end of the book. Milkman's search is much like what every teen in the world wants. He says "I just want to be on my own. Get a job, live on my own" However, through Milkman, Morrison shows her readers that they must first take care of their responsibility to their family and culture. However, when love and respect for culture is discovered, the following lesson can be learned, "Without leaving the ground, she could fly. Therefore, this is an important book to read for thos wanting freedom, so they can learn from the mistakes of Milkman. Frankly, I don't know how anyone could not like this book, if not for the wonderful story, then at least for the wonderful writing.

Would also recommend: "Bark of the Dogwood"

In Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison takes the view - a common one - that we have to know our history to know ourselves. I don't really agree but in this case it makes a great story. The characters in her novel don't make calculations or follow strategies: they do what they have to do. The history that motivates their actions is an emotional, personal one. Morrison's preoccupation with this personal history is reflected in her use of unusual names: names that are given "from yearnings, gestures, flaws, events, mistakes, weaknesses . . . Macon Dead, Sing Byrd, Crowell Byrd, Pilate, Reba, Hagar, Magdalene, First Corinthians, Milkman, Guitar . . . ." Her characters are powerful, larger-than-life people, and clashes between them quickly escalate to life-and-death struggles. At the same time, they have a great capacity for empathy and self-sacrifice. Highly recommended.

This book is an excellent portrayal of the hopelessness of black life in the days between slavery and civil rights and of the crisis of a man torn between two cultures. A young black man, Macon Dead searches for his own identity. His father, also called Macon Dead, a prosperous real-estate owner in Michigan is eager to leave behind his black roots, the poverty-stricken,violent life of the average negro. He seeks to ape the white man and marries the relatively light-skinned daughter of the respected local doctor. His life, just like his marriage is devoid of warmth, love or any sense of family belonging. Even his daughter, Corinthians, much to his disgrace can only find fulfillment and end her sterile existence in the arms of a low-life killer. Macon comes to know his father's sister, Pilate. For him, she represents the warmth, the rootedness, the closeness to the living earth and the throbbing life force of black culture. Macon, born into but dissatisfied with the sterility of his pseudo-white home now sets out on a search to learn about his origins. Yet in the end, it is the life style of the white man and of Macon's father which survives. Just as such black villages as Shalimar in the American south die and decay, so is the true black himself sucked back into the death-bringing quagmire of the blood which runs through his veins.

With passion and a voice that sings with beautiful detail and magic, Toni Morrison's third novel, published in 1977, is a powerful tale that follows the lives of a black family and their friends living in a Michigan city. In 1931, Macon Dead III, later nicknamed Milkman, is prematurely brought into the world, the first black child born in Mercy Hospital, just after his mother witnesses the brief flight of a man determined to fly from the cupola of the hospital. Although the novel revolves around Milkman, the stories spun out from him embrace a wide variety of characters and experiences. Morrison explores the lasting stamp of slavery through the name of Macon Dead; the intimate culture of women through Pilate, Reba, and Hagar; the hunger for property and respectability through Milkman's father; the idea of one's "people" through those in the South who have not forgotten connections; the violence of civil rights through Guitar; and many more issues facing blacks of the times and today. Despite the resonance of history, this novel is ultimately about its people and their eagerly lived lives. Morrison plunges her readers into their hearts with a humanity and skill too few novelists possess. The result is a remarkably emotional and intelligent story that will stay with you for a long time.

Readers should not be intimidated by Morrison's Nobel Prize Winner status, as this novel, like most of her others, is written in startling but accessible language. You don't need an advanced degree (or even a specific race or gender) to slip into her magical prose. Her characters are real and fully realized, and feel like friends, even when you might want to shake them to their senses. Although some readers will be puzzled by the end, wanting perhaps the next sentence that explains it all, Morrison has included by her omission the real meaning of her book. Visit with it for a few moments before closing the cover.

I highly recommend this book for a wide range of readers, from high school students to adults. Even though it was written in the 1970's, its themes and characters still have relevance today. Morrison is one of the world's literary gifts, and should not be missed. THE SONG OF SOLOMON is one of her best novels.

Toni Morrison's third novel, "Song of Solomon", is one of her more praised novels (but then again which is not). Morrison takes on a third-person limited point of view of Milkman, which is extremely intriguing for it is a black man as her protagonist, not a black woman as with the rest of her works.

Evidently though, "Song of Solomon" is more of a communal novel, as seen with the impressive opening chapter with the gathered people viewing the the unfortunate, rough, and yet touching suicide of a local resident. The impressive selection of characters makes it as well planned out as Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio" or anything by William Faulkner.

The best parts of this novel are the bookends - the wonderfully constructed, metaphoric, and chaotic opening chapter, and the gutwretching climax that made me see this book as something quite redeemable. Morrison has a knack for poetic writing, much like Virginia Woolf. The middle layers may not be a strong as the bookends, but it is definitely worth the hours you spend devoted to it, for it is a novel that is unforgettable.

i highly recommend this book. her writing is absolutely incredible. she "gets it."

A MUST READ. IT SHOULD BE MADE INTO A FILM. ONE OF MY FAVORITES. YOU LAUGH, YOU CHEER, YOU CRY. YOU FEEL!