Song of Solomon (Oprah's Book Club) | 
| Author: Toni Morrison
Publisher: Plume
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  216 reviews
Sales Rank: 120216
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 337
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0452260116
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780452260115
ASIN: 0452260116
Publication Date: September 1, 1987
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
The third novel from one America's most powerful writers turns 20 years old in 1997, but Song of Solomon long ago ascended to the top shelf in the ranks of great literature. This Everyman's Library hardcover edition of the Nobel Prize-winning Morrison's lyrical, powerful, and erudite novel contains a chronology that situates the book in its historical context, and an introduction from author Reynolds Price.
Product Description
Song of Solomon explores the quest for cultural identity through an African American folktale about enslaved Africans who escape slavery by fleeing back to Africa. The novel tells the story of Macon "Milkman" Dead, a young man alienated from himself and estranged from his family, his community, and his historical and cultural roots. Author Toni Morrison, long renowned for her detailed imagery, visual language, and "righting" of black history, guides the protagonist along a 30-year journey that enables him to reconnect with his past and realize his self-worth.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 211 more reviews...
 perfection! July 9, 2008
So far my favorite by Toni Morrison who is just incredibly creative, original. There is really nobody who writes like her, able to convey multiple topics in such a magical way. Every page is filled with beauty, magic, history, and sharp observations on human psychology. The stories of the characters are unpredictable, but make perfect sense in the end. The writing is fluid, poetic, and mythical. Toni Morrison truly is one of the best writers of our time!
 A total distortion of the novel June 2, 2008
I can't believe that an artist like Toni Morrison would allow the book to be slashed and altered with this abridgment. The result of this Reader's Digest style alteration is a work that bears no relation to the novel. If you want to misunderstand the novel, use this recording. You'd be better off in Sparknotes than in listening to this. What a waste.
Song of Solomon is... May 17, 2008
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
... pretty terrible. I had to read this book for a class in high school. It has the appearance of being deep and meaningful, but in reality, Toni Morrison just throws a bunch of symbols together and calls it a book.
Masterpiece [25] January 1, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Morrison's "Song of Solomon" encapsulates her strongest skills into one novel.
The story line is unparalleled - it eclipses even some of her other highly acclaimed pieces like "Sula" or "Beloved." The dialect delivered by the people is equal to that shown in "Jazz" or "Beloved." And, her weaving of the story lines throughout the pages of the novel, sews the novel's fabric or philosophies deeply into the reader's mind - as only great novels seem to be do.
This may be the Southern America's finest glory in literature - rivaled only by Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" or Faulkner's greats - "As I Lay Dying" or "The Sound and the Fury." This is one of the great African American novels - rivaled only by Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man", Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" or James Baldwin's "Go Tell It On The Mountain." In short, this a great novel.
Many aspects of the life of Macon Death III, a/k/a Milkman - whose life we watch from birth to his early 30's - are happy and dreary. We learn about his witch-like aunt, Pilate, whose lazy daughter Reba birth's his lover, Hagar. As he grows in wealth, his soul feels closer to his name. "My name's Macon; I'm already dead." And, many are trying to prompt invitation to his dying to his name - first his father, then his girlfriend, then a knife-wielding maniac in a small town, and lastly his best friend.
During a search for life, and seeking to find an exit from his "Death", Milkman seeks to find what others may know about his past. His parent's contradictory statements about what the other did to present the dysfunctional aspects of their family both confuse and anger him. His aunt delivers more light on who he is as she speaks about his grandfather's apparition's requests. His father silently will not negate this statement. And, others see ghosts too - something not uncommon for a Morrison novel - particularly in "Beloved."
And, like most Morrison novels, inhumane treatment by men upon other men delivers premature death or destruction of family. Morrison's novels commonly have white man's grotesquely cruel acts upon innocent black children affect the innocents - so affected that main characters often become morally corrupt. This novel is no different. But, the degree of corruption establishes new heights with an organization called the Seven Days. This organization belays the Judeo-Christian ethic, its vigilantes become terrorist murderers of innocent whites - reciprocating to the whites what happened to them or their peers. Southern communities are akin to Palestine. Fighting "bad people" apparently backfires - the acts of violence (whites upon blacks or vice versa) does not exterminate the "other's" hatred, it breeds more hatred which concurrently breeds more violence.
If one uses metaphor to describe Morrison's writing, her high couture is not fundamentally created by the fabric - but rather a composition founded upon the artistry, the sewing. She does not use large words or deeply rooted symbolism which may confuse some readers. Instead, she writes in a manner which can be understood by a wide audience.
Powerfully written, this book makes you pour through the pages to see what happens next. This is the premier work by a premier author and should not be overlooked.
 Southern Fried Magic Realism December 12, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm glad that I read this book, but did not find it to be pleasing or interesting. As the review title declares, this novel strikes me as a cross between the beautiful writing style of Southern writers like Thomas Wolfe and the magic realism of Hispanic writers (especially Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Jorges Borges). The Southern style is something I just don't like after reading many years and many authors of this style. It feels overworked and grasping to me. Your taste may be different. I do enjoy magic realism, but find writers like Marquez or Borges do it better than Toni Morrison. Again, your taste may be different. Please realize that I'm not claiming this is a bad book or that Toni Morrison is a bad writer; it's just not my cup of team (Southern style crossed with weaker magic realism).
Chapter One of this book is one of the best first chapters of any book I've ever read and it displays exactly what the book is and how Morrison writes. The Kindle version of the book provides a free sample and I'd encourage everyone to download it and read it.
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