Review: Beloved

Beloved by Toni Morrison 

 

     Let me start off by saying, I didn't really enjoy this book. I know it's a classic, as it won the Pulitzer Prize, but it never fully captured my attention or intrigued me. Beloved tells the story of Sethe,  a recently freed slave, who's dealing with the repercussions and aftermath of slavery. Her and her daughter, Denver, are not alone in this new life of theirs. No, their house is haunted by a ghost, the ghost of one of Sethe's previous daughters. Everything changes when a friend from the past comes back into Sethe's life and chases the spirit out of the house. By doing this, they think they are all free from the past, but they are wrong. When a woman, who so happens to be named Beloved, arrives into town, the family is again forced to confront past choices and to relive everything they have tried so hard and so desperately to push out of their minds.
     I had to read this book for school, so perhaps that is why I didn't like it as much as others have. Being forced to read something you don't enjoy is never fun. This novel just felt like a pain to read, and it was hard to get through and finish it. It made me uncomfortable, as some parts are very disturbing and horrific to read. Beloved does detail the events of slavery, and certain scenes felt very realistic, but maybe too much so. Also, it was just too confusing. It seemed like particular chapters were left unfinished and just jumped into the next. The book additionally switched back between the past and present narratives, and it was hard to decipher what was actually taking place. 
     On the bright side though, since I did have to read it for one of my classes, I was given the opportunity to divulge further into the source material and explore some of the novel's main themes. After going through the book in detail, it did make me appreciate it more. I realized Beloved is meant to make you feel uncomfortable and confused. It's supposed to be disturbing and horrific to read. These emotions and feelings were intended by the author. It surely reflects the time period in which it is based, as it was a time of coming to terms with the past and learning how to rebuild, even though many did not how or where to begin. Certainly, it was interesting to realize that slavery left people feeling haunted, and that can be seen in the baby ghost haunting Sethe. I won't spoil anything for you if you haven't read it yet. Essentially though, the novel is about accepting the past and moving forward. Sethe isn't able to do this in the beginning. She feels like she has done this, but really she has just ignored her problems and believed that they were already solved. However, she learns how to do this is the end. I think this is a great message to send to readers. Truly, you can't let go of something, unless you have already acknowledged it to be gone. I definitely liked the book a lot more after analyzing it in class, but if you're on you're own and reading it, you absolutely will have hard time making it to the end. Overall, I give this book 2 stars and would recommend it, but only at your own risk.