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Beloved

Pulitzer Prize Winner

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Beloved

By: Toni Morrison, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers - introduction
Narrated by: Toni Morrison, Karen Murray
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PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This "powerful, mesmerizing story” (People) is an unflinching look into the abyss of slavery, from the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner. With an afterword by the author and a new introduction by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers.

“A masterwork.... Wonderful.... I can’t imagine American literature without it.” —John Leonard, Los Angeles Times

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

“Dazzling. . . . Magical. . . . An extraordinary work.” —The New York Times
African American Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Haunted Heartfelt Inspiring Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking
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Critic reviews

“A masterwork. . . . Wonderful. . . . I can’t imagine American literature without it.” —John Leonard, Los Angeles Times

“A triumph.” —Margaret Atwood, The New York Times Book Review

“Toni Morrison’s finest work. . . . [It] sets her apart [and] displays her prodigious talent.” —Chicago Sun-Times

“Dazzling. . . . Magical. . . . An extraordinary work.” —The New York Times

“A masterpiece. . . . Magnificent. . . . Astounding. . . . Overpowering.” —Newsweek

“Brilliant. . . . Resonates from past to present.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“A brutally powerful, mesmerizing story. . . . Read it and tremble.” —People

“Toni Morrison is not just an important contemporary novelist but a major figure in our national literature.” —New York Review of Books

“A work of genuine force. . . . Beautifully written.” —The Washington Post

“There is something great in Beloved: a play of human voices, consciously exalted, perversely stressed, yet holding true. It gets you.” —The New Yorker

“A magnificent heroine . . . a glorious book.” —The Baltimore Sun

“Superb. . . . A profound and shattering story that carries the weight of history. . . . Exquisitely told.” —Cosmopolitan

“Magical . . . rich, provocative, extremely satisfying.” —Milwaukee Journal

“Beautifully written. . . . Powerful. . . . Toni Morrison has become one of America’s finest novelists.” —The Plain Dealer

“Stunning. . . A lasting achievement.” —The Christian Science Monitor

“Written with a force rarely seen in contemporary fiction. . . . One feels deep admiration.” —USA Today

“Compelling . . . . Morrison shakes that brilliant kaleidoscope of hers again, and the story of pain, endurance, poetry and power she is born to tell comes right out.” —The Village Voice

“A book worth many rereadings.” —Glamour

“In her most probing novel, Toni Morrison has demonstrated once again the stunning powers that place her in the first ranks of our living novelists.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Heart-wrenching . . . mesmerizing.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Shattering emotional power and impact.” —New York Daily News

“A rich, mythical novel . . . a triumph.” —St. Petersburg Times

“Powerful . . . voluptuous.” —New York
All stars
Most relevant
Such an important subject but the style was not my cup of tea. This is a very personal reason not to like it and I can see why other reviewers raved about this book. If you like poetry, read in the stereotypical way, with pauses in unusual places and metaphors abounding then this may be for you. At times it felt like I was listening to a poem that was going on for hours and hours! I found the book hard to get into and stay connected with because of the reading style. The story depicts the harrowing nature of slavery and what humans, whatever their race or background, are capable of.
I give it three stars because I think it probably is a very well written book, covering a very difficult subject, but one that I could not appreciate because of the style of writing or reading.

Important subject but ...

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This has to rate as one of my top ten audio books of all time. It's always a treat to hear an author read her own work and this is no exception. The pathos that Morrison's diction lends to this exemplary text makes for a stunning dramatic recording. I was gripped throughout and had switch off on several occasions, because it was too frightening to go on. This is not billed as a thriller, and nor should it be. Rather it is a terrible story. It?s not a comfortable read, but it is outstanding: for what is said, and how.

I was scared witless...

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A deeply woven story. Both touching and moving. Great characterisation, leaving nothing uncovered, and laid bare, but the true nature of humankind.

Haunting.

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A wonderfully evocative narrative exploring a mother's reaction to the possibility of returning with her children to a life of slavery. An empathetic yet harshly realistic view of the lives of American slaves, one that takes into account the human relationships and feelings of a group of people believed to be less than human.

Beloved

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Beautifully read and a poignant story that captivates you from the start. Thoroughly recommend this book.

Mesmerising

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