Beloved

Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby.

Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. Her new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.

Filled with bitter poetry and suspense as taut as a rope, Beloved is a towering achievement by Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Wow. I seriously cannot believe I have never read this book before now. Though, I can honestly say that I know if I would have read it any more than three or five years ago, I don't think it would have had the same emotional impact as reading it now. However, I also think that if I ever read this book again, the emotional impact will increase with my age as I, as a woman, can connect more and more with Sethe. 

Though I am not African American, I think Sethe's story transcends the differences between her and the female reader. Her story is raw and ugly and heartbreaking and gut-wrenching and horrifying. However, it is also hopeful and mystical, even though it's a little frightening throughout. I felt connected to Sethe through her guilt, her experiences, and her scars as Morrison bares all for her reader. I also felt connected to Sethe through her hope for the future, even though the guilt she feels over her past mistakes nearly kills her in the end. 

What I most enjoyed about this book were the mystical elements that surround Beloved's return and the interesting dynamic her ghostly figure created between the characters. However, again, Beloved also made the book a little scary as the reader doesn't know if Beloved has returned from the other side to offer peace, cause suffering, or a little of both. 

For readers who like novels that show no fear in telling a story that will prompt change -- this book will exceed expectations. It also has a lot to offer in social, cultural, and historical contexts as it takes place in the late 1800s. Though it was not by any means a 'happy' book, I'm glad I read it and even through the darkness, Beloved offers a feeling of brightness. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

Absalom's Daughters

Self-educated and brown-skinned, Cassie works full time in her grandmother’s laundry in rural Mississippi. Illiterate and white, Judith falls for “colored music” and dreams of life as a big city radio star. These teenaged girls are half-sisters. And when they catch wind of their wayward father’s inheritance coming down in Virginia, they hitch their hopes to a road trip together to claim what’s rightly theirs.

In an old junk car, with a frying pan, a ham, and a few dollars hidden in a shoe, they set off through the American Deep South of the 1950s, a bewitchingly beautiful landscape as well as one bedeviled by racial strife and violence. Suzanne Feldman's Absalom’s Daughters combines the buddy movie, the coming-of-age tale, and a dash of magical realism to enthrall and move us with an unforgettable, illuminating novel.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Absalom's Daughters is the debut novel of Suzanne Feldman, containing beautiful prose that is laced with mysticism. Two girls, Cassie and Judith, discover they're half-sisters and are pushed into finding their father in order to claim an inheritance after a death in the family. They escape rural Mississippi in a junked, and stolen, car, traveling to Virginia where their father resides. With equal doses of help and prejudice, Cassie and Judith have the adventure of a lifetime, learning about the importance of the past and how it lives in the present. 

Cassie, with cinnamon colored skin, has grown up working with her mother and grandmother in the laundry business on Negro Street. She's heard the rumors that her father is a white man and knows that Judith is her sister. At first, the two girls don't exactly get along but there's something that ties them together. After she learns of the inheritance, Cassie's mother tells her to go, escape Mississippi and find something better. Cassie is an open-minded character who grows into her past as she travels. She discovers her history and learns to accept it. She's a brave girl, setting off for Virginia with only a few dollars. Cassie is cautious but friendly, with an air of naivety and hope. Though she's uncertain about what an inheritance really means to her, Cassie takes the chance that the road trip will lead her somewhere better. 

Though Cassie is the main focus of the novel, Judith plays an important role. Judith is the force that moves Cassie forward. Even though she's constantly making up stories and really only dreams of becoming a famous singer, she provides a way for Cassie to grow. Judith isn't the most likeable character at first, but she becomes more understandable as the novel progresses. Struggling with the idea that her father abandoned her and experiencing a miscarriage along the way, Judith is revealed as a strong character who doesn't let anything stop her from dreaming. 

My favorite thing about this book is the dialect. Feldman uses this tool to really bring the characters to life. I always love when an author represents a culture through speech, especially when they're successful. It pulls readers deeper into the story, immersing them in the time period and making the story more realistic. 

In the afterword, Feldman thanks William Faulkner as man of inspiration, the title of this book echoing Absalom! Absalom! The name Absalom comes from a biblical story in which Absalom, son of David, rebelled against his father and went to war. In the war he was killed by one of his father's generals. Absalom was said to have a daughter in the bible, though he did not have two. However, this novel echoes the themes of rising up against familial wishes and becoming something more. Another common theme is that the past is part of the present and Feldman demonstrates that belief through the use of mysticism and myth. She allows her characters to grow into the past as they learn to understand it, ultimately giving Cassie a new life, a life she can be proud of. 

Rating: 5/5 Cups

(Note: The information about Faulkner's Absalom! Absalom! and the biblical stories are available on Wikipedia at the following pages: Absalom! Absalom! and Absalom.)