2017: This is the first 5 star read of the year that wasn't a reread! I'm really surprised and relieved that my first Toni Morrison was a huge success. I had assumed that her books would be too dark for me (and I think some of them might be), but SOS turned out to be just the right book for me. This novel has a parcel of amazingly odd characters who you want to hear more and more about. I would classify this as magical realism because the idea of magic hovers all throughout this text. The main plot of this novel is a search to understand one's heritage, but the joy I found whilst reading this came from the succinct, yet poetical writing style and those unique characters. This makes me consider reading all of her novels in 2018 and so eager to read the two other Morrisons I have on my shelves this year.

2020: Milkman Dead doesn't realize just how coddled he's been all his life. Now in his thirties, he discovers a truth about his family history and embarks on a road trip that will change everything he knows about himself. Song of Solomon is Toni Morrison's first attempt to write from a male protagonist's point of view.

Though Milkman is our main character, which becomes more apparent in the second half of the novel, the joy of SOS is learning about the lives of Milkman's family. There are many strong, flawed female characters to connect with and fascinate the reader. This delving into the lives of all the characters is why I love SOS. Pilate, First Corinthians, Ruth, Hagar... these characters show that there's really nothing ordinary about any person.

Throughout this novel is the image of flight, beginning with a scene in which a man wearing blue silk wings jumps from the roof of a building to his death. Hearkening back to the legend of Africans who literally fly away to escape slavery, this is just one element of magical realism that permeates to story of the Dead family. SOS remains my favorite Morrison, and I look forward to rereading it again and again.

Wowzers, what a crock of unrelenting shit. Unless you want to come across quotes similar to this every couple paragraphs: "Luther came back and while the others rested, carved out the rectal tube with the deft motions of a man coring an apple." (282).

I tried this once and couldn't get past the first chapter. I stopped for 2 weeks and decided that I had to read it so I can get rid of it faster. (Not a good reason to read anything right?) But it slowly started to get better after that second chapter.

It was a coming to age story but not really. It was about family and how you get a nickname in the North hood and how it sticks in the community hence the main character, Milkman. Someone saw him suckling his mother's teat at an age where he was seemingly too big for it but too small to understand the embarrassment of it. The novel goes through Milkman's family dynamics and his feelings towards it all. His father is Macon Dead and has made it as an arrogant successful black landowner. Milkman doesn't understand how hard it is to be a black successful anything so has no ambition in his life.

His mother is an unhappy wife that his father takes for granted. He has no real relationships with his older sisters, First Corinthians and Magdalene, and sees them and their problems as annoying and not worth his time.

The story takes us back and forth to before Milkman was born to his mid thirties. At this point in his life he learns about some hidden gold his aunt and father fought over long ago. This gold hunt takes him to Virginia where he learns about his families past. And he learns a lot about himself in the process.

This ended up being a great surprise. It is very Southern and the reader should be aware of black history and the black and white tensions of the United States to better understand a thick story like this.

There's a lot to process here and I am not sure I can review this with any justice, except to say: read it, you won't regret it. Morrison's writing is wonderful, her characters are fascinating and multi-layered; her understanding of human nature and motivations is razor sharp.

This beautifully written book about a black family living in Michigan has a little of everything - magic, ghosts, eccentrics, murderers, lovers, and more.



Jumping back and forth in time. it tells the story of Milkman Dead, who after growing up indulged and self-centered in a northern, industrial city comes to discover something of his ancestry and roots in the rural south. A fascinating story filled with wonderful interesting characters.

Awe inspiring! Toni Morrison is a brilliant writer with the ability to draw the reader in from the first page. Not only a riveting story, but a very philosophical book as well. Each character was fleshed out so well, even the secondary characters seemed like people I know. Every character is deeply flawed, even the hero...much like real people. This book helped me to understand some of the motivations of people in my own life. Not because they resemble the characters, but because the situations the characters were in were similar (metaphorically) to much of my own life. I can't forgive these things, but at least I can see where some of the feelings were coming from. This book also helped me to recognize how important it is to know, not only where you come from, but to respect the things that your "people" have gone through. That is something that I had not put much thought into during my lifetime. As I reviewed some of the concepts in this book, I realized that Toni Morrison had changed my life. She added texture and depth to the way that I view others. Very few authors have the ability to describe human emotions and motivations to that degree. She is easily one of the most brilliant writers I have ever read...

Toni Morrison is perhaps the most important writer living today and Song of Solomon is perhaps the best novel of the last 50 years of American life. Despite the high standing of both novel and author, there are many that chide both for delving too far into the world of African American mythology. The book, according to a reviewer on this very website, bitterly states that Song of Solomon is more fable than novel. Attempting to paint the novel as fable undercuts its central mission: to highlight the important role of mythology in linking African Americans to their past by creating narratives for those that were lost during slavery, Jim Crow, and black peril. The novel is not fable, but the recreation and reconnection of Milkman, symbolic of his own community, reconnecting with a lost past. The gaffe by the reviewers is understandable, however, as mythology has lost credibility due to the ferocious rise of science.

Morrison, quite rightly, attempts to delve into mythology to try to answer pertient questions about Black history. Much of the mythology in Song of Solomon revolves around flight. For hundreds of years, there has been a belief among the Black community that people of color could fly; that is was one their gifts. While for residents of the scientific age people flying seems trite, for Morrison and other people of color the ability to fly seems only natural. The difference in the thought processes is derived from educational differences. European education has tended to focus on empirical science while African education has tended to focus on familial values and cultural learning. African education seeks to reunite the learner with the etymology of self while European education seeks some broad sort of social literacy engulfed in intimately knowing "other."

The language of Song of Solomon might not be accessible to all readers who fail to understand its broader context, which is perfectly understandable. indeed, even Milkman, the story's protagonist, doesn't understand the language of his community for the first half of the book. It is only when he begins to seek out, understand, and embrace the mythology of his race and the roots planted by previous generations that he is able to connect, for the first time, with his community and experience that sort of bond that mythology can bring. This connection with the past and the necessity of finding one's own story is as important a theme as one could imagine, especially in an era where sameness, conformity, and the idea of the ethnic "mutt" have won some sort of cultural acceptance.

It is that theme--one of a resurrected connection with the past--that makes Morrison's novel of the utmost importance. We must all connect back to our mythology and begin to understand the language of previous generations in order to benefit ourselves.

Beautifully written. It was a pleasure to hear the author read her own words.
Standout quote: "Everything bad that ever happened to him happened because he couldn't read."

the type of book u gotta leave to marinate for a while

This is Toni Morrison’s third novel, and the one that led to her fame, winning the National Book Critics award, and getting chosen for a multitude of prestigious book clubs.

The first half of the book is set in a fictional city in Michigan, in a section called Southside, while the second part mostly takes place in Virginia. The novel is an epic story of the Dead family - that's right, 'Dead' is the surname, a mistake on a form that literally gives the family’s name as Dead (Reminds me of how young Vito Andolini is renamed Corleone at the immigration center at Ellis Island in The Godfather). The story itself is a search for a lost identity, for stolen names, and where a family came from.

The book begins with the suicide of Robert Smith, a character who we won't see for the rest of the book, but haunts the story, nevertheless, and who, in an attempt to fly, jumps off the roof of a hospital where the main character is born at the same time. The theme of flight, i.e. escape, forms the central core of the novel (notice the wings on the S's on the original cover).
This African-American family saga, instead of going forward in time, from past to present and following the "Great Migration" from the south to the north, as might be expected in a historical novel, actually goes the opposite way, exploring the past and investigating and embracing southern origins as the story progresses. The character who takes us on this journey is "Milkman," (Macon Dead III). From the structure of the story, it is obvious that Milkman is seeking flight from the smothering dysfunction of his family. A song he often sings is consistent with this:

Solomon done fly, Solomon done gone
Solomon went across the sky, Solomon gone home.

I watched a short interview with Toni Morrison on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTAQH...) and according to her, there was a myth among black slaves, who under special circumstances, could fly back to Africa.

The title of the novel is the name of a book of the Old Testament, and I was told Jewish people read this at Passover as it is associated with the Exodus out of Egypt.

Although many of the characters are not very likable, we do get a good understanding of why they are the way they are, so the character development turns out to be an extraordinary feat of fiction writing.

There are, of course, examples of racism, some horrific, but the book is obviously focusing on the conflicts within the African-American community itself during the forties and fifties, (this might have been a result of the author experiencing black-on-black discrimination during her years at Howard University, an all-black college). For one, the Dead family is rich, and because of envy and bitterness over this on the part of other black people, Milkman is not fully accepted by those around him.

One final thought: I am tempted to say that this novel, in its disclosure of African-American cultural history, plays a similar role as Faulkner's works regarding southern white families and dynasties (although I have yet to finish a book by Faulkner).

A heavy duty read, not to be enjoyed as entertainment. The novel exhausted me. The five stars I gave is for achievement, however it will be a long time before I read another Toni Morrison book. Emotional endurance is a requirement for her works.

‘Song of Solomon’ by Toni Morrison is extremely dense with symbolism. That said, it is an interesting novel combining and crossing a number of genre categories. It’s primarily a generational family saga of a Black family. However, there is a ghost, maybe. While the novel doesn’t soft soap the past of most American Black families who were forcibly brought to America as slaves, it really isn’t about that and it doesn’t focus directly on those issues.

The main character, Milkman, is somewhat spoiled and pampered. As an adult in 1963, he has been drifting, often going slumming by visiting a neighborhood of poor Black people to visit friends and family without committing himself to anything or anyone. He is the only son of a successful real estate man in Michigan, in an unnamed Big City. He has two older sisters, First Corinthians and Magdelene called Lena, names picked randomly from the Bible, a family tradition. Milkman’s real name is Macon Dead. His father’s name is Macon Dead, and his grandfather’s name is Macon Dead. This recycling of names gives the impression of treading water.

There is a story passed down through the generations of how this name is the name of these three men. Grandfather was a ex-slave who could not read or write. Grandfather’s name was written down for him by a drunk White man who misheard what Grandfather said. Macon doesn’t know what his father’s name was exactly, maybe Jake? He has never tried to find out after his father was shot dead by people who wanted his farm. The murder left him and his sister Pilate orphaned. All he knows is his family lived in Danville, Pennsylvania. Macon emigrated to Michigan and he concentrated on buying houses and apartment buildings. He is now a rich man, but his family is unhappy.

The family is unhappy because Milkman’s father Macon and his mother Ruth Foster are unhappily married. Macon hates Ruth and torments her with vicious comments and by controlling her every move. He keeps her a virtual prisoner in their house, forbidding her to leave. Milkman is expected to take over Macon’s real estate business and is given high status in the family. Milkman’s sisters, older by decades, wait on the two men hand and foot. They do useless for-show-only charity work.

Macon’s sister Pilate, who lives in the poor Black neighborhood, is trashy in Macon’s eyes. Milkman goes to visit her often despite the fact Macon has forbidden it. Milkman thinks his aunt Pilate, her daughter Reba, and her daughter Hagar, are fascinating. Pilate makes and sells wine for a living. Her house has no electricity as Pilate is a bit of a flake. She does not seem to appreciate modern life much and she lives in poverty seemingly by choice. Reba is a simple person, not as complicated as Pilate. Hagar is a modern girl, though, and her bedroom reflects a more normal teenager’s interests.

The tensions in Milkman’s family become worse, stuff happens and one of Milkman’s friends threatens Milkman’s life over another one of Milkman’s family legends. It seems Macon and Pilate found bags of gold when escaping Danville. Macon believes Pilate has the gold, or knows where the gold bags are. They had found a cave with the gold when escaping their father’s murderers as children, but Pilate wouldn’t let Macon take the gold. They separated that night. When Macon went back, the gold was gone. Pilate showed up in Michigan forty years later and moved into the poor Black neighborhood to be near Macon. Macon hates her.

Milkman decides to go to Danville. He wants to find the cave and the gold. He tells people he simply wants to research his family’s history, but not really. He really only wants to find the gold. He is so tired of the drama in his family, but especially he really hates the responsibilities they all are expecting of him. On top of everything else happening, Hagar has fallen in love with him. Hagar and Milkman had sex and a fun friends-with-benefits relationship. Now that his cousin wants to take the relationship to another level, he can’t stand it. Worse, Hagar appears to have lost her mind over his rejection. Milkman wants desperately to fly away. He dreams of flying. Flying! Flying!


The book is interesting, but it was difficult for me to emotionally connect to these characters. Few of them have motivations which, while they made sense, I could relate to. None of the men in the Dead family were nice people. Pilate was my favorite character. Morrison showed what happened to her in flashback chapters. I believe Morrison’s main theme was that in robbing Black people of their history and a positive context of Place, they sometimes do not have the sturdy moorings for emotional stability and community connections. The novel is sad, full stop. Just sad. The Dead family indeed.


I have copied Wikipedia on the biblical Song of Songs, or the Song of Solomon:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of...

الرواية هى من نوعية الروايات التى يطلق عليها اسم
Masterpiece
ملحمة بديعة
تدخل عالم من الاغانى والفولكلور والسحر والغموض
عالم اسطورى من ميثولوجيا تصنعها تونى موريسون

هى وسيلة للحفاظ على وصلة لتاريخ العائلة المنسية. في مجتمع حيث معظم الأجيال السابقة كانوا أميين، والأغاني بدلا من كتب التاريخ تحكي قصة الماضي
ةتسجل تفاصيل حياة اجداد سابقين
وما هو مصير الاسلاف
تبقيه على الطريق لاكتشاف ذاته الضائعة

تبدا الرواية برجل يقفز من فوق السطح
السيد سميث
لقد طار رجلى
رجلى اجتاز الغيوم
رجلى عاد الى حيث يقيم

فى اليوم التالى ابصر طفل ملون النور بين جدران مستشفى الرحمة
اسم غريب لمستشفى لا تسمح للملونين بالدخول
كان الطفل مدموغا بجناحى السيد سميث الحريرين الزرقاوين ذلك انه عندما تيقن ان السيد سميث سبقه الى التثبت من ان الطيور والطائرات ةحدهها قادرة على الطيران
عند ذلك فقد الوجود كل معنى بالنسبه له

رمزية الطيران
القدرة على الطيران هو الاساس الذى اعتمدت عليه الكاتبة فى كتابة هذه الرواية الرائعة
هى اساس واقعيتها السحرية الفريدة والمميزة

طوال احداث الرواية انت امام رجال يتركون نسائهم ويهربوا
تحكى قصة الآباء الذين يتخلون عن أطفالهم
مشاعر مختلطة من الحزن و الخسارة لرحلة الطيران تلك
الرجال يحلقون
تاركين النساء وراءهم
وهم الفائزين دائما فى النهاية
بينما تتحطم النساء وتشقى بمفردها


فى معاناة مزدوجة ليس فقط عبء العبودية والتمييز العتصرى
ولكن عليها ان تدفع ايضا ضريبة حرية الرجال


فى الوقت الذى يتذكر الناس رينا كامراة ضعيفة جنت لانها لم تستطع ان تتماسك
و
اطلقوا اسمها على مكان مظلم كئيب مخيف
اعطى سليمان المجد كله واطلقوا اسمه على ذروة جبلية خلابة
فالمجتمع يكافىءه على تخليه عن اولاده ويعاقب رينا لعجزها عن رعاية واحد وعشرين طفلا


تبقى بيلاطس رمز للصمود والوفاء
كانت تستطع ان تطير
وتهرب تاركة
الكل ورائها
تاريخ عائلة ماكون الموت الذى يتكرر
الوراثة ليست فى البشرة السوداءولكن فى الطباع و الصفات
والقدرة على الطيران

ما فعله الجد يفعله الحفيد
طار الجد تاركا ورائه

احد وعشرون طفلا و زوجة
فقدت صوابه
"
انها سخافات لكن هذا ما يروى لم يرحل عدوا انه طار لقد طار كما العصفور ذات يوم استوى واقفا فى الحقول ركض نحو هضبة عالية حوم مرتين ثم ارتفع فى الهواء استدار ليعود مباشرة من حيث اتى هناك صخرة
ضخمة ذات راسين فةق الةادى دعيت باسمه كادت المراة ان تموت زوجته يقال انها ناحت طوال ايام وايام وهناك وادى قريب من هنا يسمى وادى ربنا تصدر عنه فى بعض الايام اصواتا غريبة تقلها الرياح يقول الناس انها المراة امراة سليمان تبكى انها تدعى رينا يقولون انها بكت واستمرت فى البكاء حتى فقدت عقلها
"
وهو ما حدث لحفيدتها
امراة تحب بجنون بكل مافى الكلمة من معنى
فى محاولة اخيرة لاستعادة حبيبها



واقتناعا منها، بعد النظر في وجهها في مرآة انه لا يريدها او يحبها لأنها ليست جميلة بما فيه الكفاية بالنسبة له أو مرغوبا فيه ما يكفي بالنسبة له، تذهب إلى متجر منتجات التجميل من أجل إعادة جمالها الزائل

تقدم لها الصور والملصقات الدعائية للجمال والأنوثة الكاملة وهو مثال اخر للمادية فهى لم تستكع شراء الجمال بكل المال الذى انفقته
وقد اكملت الامطار اتلاف المستحضرات وتلويث الاثواب الجديدة وتمزيق الجوارب
"
وقضت عليها الحمى
وانعدام الامل الضعيف الباقى


"
من ذا الذى عذب عزيزتى الصغيرة الرقيقة

احدهم عذب صغيرتى

ساجد من عذب عزيزتى الصغيرة الرقيقة

اطلبوا الرحمة
"


لماذا لا يحب شعرى؟
انه لا يحب الشعر الذى يشبه شعرى
والبشرة بلون الحامض
والعيون الرمادية الضاربة الى الزرقة
لم يحب شعرى ابدا
"


"
اتظنين انك مجردة من اى قيمة لا لشىء الا لانه لا يحبك او تظنين لانه غير راغب بك انه على حق طريقته فى الحكم عليك الفكرة التى لديه عنك او تظنين ذلك صوابا اذا تخلى عنك فانت شىء تافه اتظنين انه لك لمجرد رغبتك فى ان تكونى له كلا با اغار الامتلاك كلمة بشعة خاصة اذا استعملت فى مجال الحب لا ينبغى ان يكون الحب على هذه الصورة هل سبق لك ان رايت كيف تعشق الغيوم الجبال تزنرها على شكل دائرة وفى بعض الاحيان تتعذر رؤية الجبال بسبب الغيوم ولكن هل تعرفين اذا ما تسلقت حتى القمة ماذا تشاهدين الراس لا تغطى الغيوم الراس ابدا يخترق الراس الغيوم لانها تدعه يفعل ذلك انها لا تخنقه انها تدع الجبل يحتفظ براسه شامخا طليقا دون ان تحاول ستره او اسره لا تستطيعين امتلاك كائن بشرى
هل باستطاعتك فعلا محبة انسان هو لاشىء دونك؟
هل هذا هو الشخص الذى تريدينه فعلا
انسان يتلاشى ويضمحل ما ان تغادرى الباب؟
تضعين حياتك كلها بين يديه حياتك كلها يا صغيرتى واذا كانت رخيصة الى هذا الحد بحيث تقدمينها هدية له اذن فلماذا تريدين ان يجدها اغى ثمنا؟
لن يقدرك اكثر ما تقدرين نفسك
"

الطاووس
يظهر الطاووس وهم فى طريقهم للعثور على الذهب تلميح للفشل الذى ينتظرهم
وان وجود الذهب هو مجرد وهم
وهو ابيض فى تلميح الى ان كل ما هو ابيض هو فاسد
و مغرور
ولا يسعى الى شىء سوى الى المال
مثل الاب الذى تحول بعد صدمة مقتل ابيه الى نسخة متةحسة من الرجل الابيض

الكهف
مزيد من الرمزية والغموض وقد يعزى اليه قدرات بيلاطس الخارقة للطبيعة بعد ان اعتكفت فى كهف مع رجل ميت
فى اشارة لقصة
لعازر
الانجيلية
وليست قصة الكهف فقط ولكن الاسماء ايضا
بيلاطس قاتل المسيح
سليمان هاجر اواغار

كتاب الجغرافيا
رافق بيلاطس منذ ان كانت طفلة
يبقى مذكرا اياها بالاماكن التى زارتها والتقطت احجارا احتفظت بها كتذكار
انها تعرف الجغرافيا الامريكية كما تعرف
ظهر يديها


أيضا تعرف جغرافيا الطبيعة البشرية، وكيف، ولماذا البشر يتصرفون بالطريقة التي يتصرفون بها


وهو رمز لهجرة العبيد عقب الحرب الاهلية
الى الشمال والتى خاضها بطل القصة عكسيا باحثا عن الذهب ومستكشفا تاريخ اسلافه
واللغز وراء اسماء عائلته
والذى هو الكنز الحقيقى

الورد الاصطناعي

كورنثوس الأولى و لينا يمضيان حياتهما فى صنع الورود الاصطناعية التي


لا تجلب الكثير من المال في، والغرض الحقيقي من هذا النشاط هو لتوفير الهاء
للفتاتين
تمثل الحياة الخانقة للطبقة العليا واضطهاد المرأة
فى صورة دمية جميلة لا تقوم باى عمل حقيقى فى الواقع
تنقل اكتئاب وملل صاحبتيها بعكس الاشجار الحية التى زرعتها لينا
.والتى كانت عزائها الوحيد
فى حياة تفتقد الحب
والدفء الاسرى فى ظل ابويين يكرهان احجهما الاخر



"
تريد حياتى لم يقل هذا صارحا انت بحاجة اليها خذها دون ان يمسح دموعه دون ان يتنفس بعمق وحتى دون ان يثنى ركبته قفز رشيقا متوهجا كنجمة هاربة طار نحو غيتار ليس مهما اننن يكون هذا او ذاك هو الذى اسلم الروح فى ذراعى اخيه القاتلتين فقد عرف الان ما يعرف شاليمار او سليمان اذا اسلمنا للريح امكننا ركوبها
"


"

النساء السوداوات يرغبن فى مصادرتك بالكامل
لماذا لا تفهمنى انهن يقصدن لا تحب احدا سواى فى العالم
كن رصينا يقصدن لا تذهب الى مكان لست انا فيه
تحاول تسلق جبل ايفرست يعقدن لك الحبال

تقول انك ترغب فى الغطس الى قعر البحر يخفن لك قارورة الاوكسجين
حتى لو حالفك الحظ وكنت عبقريا وعنيد ا وبلغة قمة افرست فان هذا لن يكفى يطلبن كافة انتباهك واهتمامك
اذا غامرت مرة يقلن انك فقدت رشدك
وانك لا تحبهن
لا يدعنك تجازف بحياتك الى من اجلهن
ما قيمة فرحة رجل عاجز عن اختيار ما يريد الموت من اجله
"

سيرسيه
الخادمة الوفية والام البديلة
"
هل سمعتنى لقد ماتت مفضلة ذلك على العيش مثلى اذا كانت طريقتى فى العمل وطبيعته تبدوان من القبح تلك الدرجة بحيث اثرت الانتحارعلى القيام بعمل مشابه
وتحسب بعدها انى احبها
لن اقوم بشوؤن المنزل بعد الان ابدا
لن ازيح ذرة غبار او الى نفاية مهما صغرت
كل ما كان فى العالم اهم ما فلى حياتهم صار غبارا ةنتانة وقعت الثريا تناثرت ارضا على قاعة الرقص
الف قطعة
ارغب فى رؤية كل سىء يندثر
ان اطمئن الى اندثاره
قبل ان ياتى احد لاصلاحه
يجب ان ترى ما فعلته الكلاب بغرفة نومها
جدرانها لم تكن مغطاه بالورق وانما بالبروكار الحريرى عملن نساء بلجيكيات عللى عمله لمدة ست سنوات
لقد احتاج ثلاثون كلبا ا لى يوما كاملا لانتزاعه
"
بيلاطس
لا تخاف الموت غالبا ما تتحدث مع الاموات
لم يحدث ان قدم ضيف الا قدمت ايه ما يؤكل قبل ان ينطق باى كلمة
"
اردت معرفة المزيد من البشر لكنت احببتهم كلهم لو عرفت المزيد لاحببت المزيد
"
" عندما تتوقع مولودا علينا اطعامه ما يحتاجه والا فانه ياتى الى هذا العالم متعطشا لما حرم منه
"