Beloved is one of those books that everyone seems to say you have to read at some point in your life. I was supposed to read it in college but didn't manage it. So this is my first ever read of it and probably my last.

Beloved is not meant to be enjoyed in the traditional sense. I think going into reading this book or reviewing it in terms of entertainment or enjoyment is misguided. Toni Morrison wrote this book to show the effects of slavery and the need to grapple with this history because if we do not it will continue to harm us all. Morrison shows this not only through her characters but her language. Like most postmodern authors, Morrison's writing is layered, often not going in a linear fashion, switching perspectives at will, and an indirect approach to telling parts of character's stories - replacing direct storytelling for poetry. This is not everyone's cup of tea - and that's okay. But Morrison does these things on purpose, she isn't just writing for the sake of writing or putting words willy nilly on paper, every word is purposefully set and even if certain details are unclear to me the bigger picture still makes sense - and it's a hard picture to look at.

This is why I say that Morrison did not mean for Beloved to be entertaining or enjoyable in a traditional sense. Instead she wants you to think and ponder and analyze the story, to take something from it. This could be the need to grapple with the past or the past will continue to haunt and torture - as seen through Beloved but also Sethe and Paul D. It could also be the need to build a community as seen through both Baby Suggs and Denver but in different directions. There are many take aways from this book - but pure enjoyment isn't one of them.

So I read this book and got something out of it. Probably more than my exhausted college self would have to be honest. And for that, for the hopeful ending, the writing, and the impact this work has had on the literary world this book gets a 4 out of 5 stars from me.