I truly enjoyed reading this book. The writing was, as always, beautiful and poetic, which added a certain charm to the story. However, I did notice that some paragraphs were a bit too bulky, which made the pacing slow at times and a bit hard to follow.

The characters were all quite interesting. I found myself sympathizing with each of their flaws. The leading character, Jadine, came across as selfish and rather oblivious to her social surroundings and politics. She seemed very disconnected from her culture and community, yet her character was complex, which made her all the more intriguing.

Son was the kind of guy you would initially like to hate, but you just couldn't. The moment he flashed that smile and laid on that wholesome charm, you were smitten with his character. He was everything, but naïve. He was very much aware of how people, both black and white, viewed him as a dark-skinned black man and all the negative stereotypes that came with it.

What really brought down my rating, though, was the unsatisfying ending. I felt that the story had no proper resolution, and the reader is left to figure out what happens to the characters on their own. It kind of felt like Toni Morrison just threw in the towel, or perhaps she just wanted her readers to think. Oh Toni!

The story is set in the early 70's and is centered around a young black woman, Jadine, who leaves her fiancé in Paris to visit her family on a secluded island. Once there, she is forced to face reality and her inner self, and is challenged to make some tough decisions.

This was a decent read overall. It was my first time reading a Toni Morrison novel with a whimsical romance theme, and it gave the novel a nice touch of suspense and drama that had me turning the pages to find out what happened to Jadine. I really liked how Morrison touched on colorism and subtle racism. However, I didn't get much of an island vibe as the characters spent most of their time at home. But still, the writing was good.

If you like books like "Sula" or "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates, I would recommend giving this one a try. I think you will like the racial social construct of this novel. I would rate it 3.5 stars.

This is my third Morrison. I have already read Sula and The Bluest Eyes. This one is in a somewhat different key. It is not as heavy a read. In fact, some of it is truly very funny.

I am not really a great fan of Morrison. I find her writing slow, often oppressive and ponderous. However, it is also full of wondrous qualities. She can be lyrical, her characters have great depth, and her storylines are quite exceptional. I like the moral ambiguity of her conclusions.

This book, which is written partially in a comic mode, is really no exception. It takes work for me, but that work is rewarded. Still, it leaves me feeling slightly resentful. Sometimes, moreover, one feels her reaching for effect.

I am reading this for a class, and because I want to find an important black modernist female writer. Morrison always becomes an obvious choice. At any rate, I have not found anyone better to fit this bill. She has a unique style and a powerful voice that cannot be ignored. Her works explore important themes such as race, gender, and identity, and they offer deep insights into the human condition. Although her writing may not always be easy to read, it is always worth the effort.

Tar Baby by Toni Morrison is a remarkable work that can truly be considered a poem in many ways. Despite its rich and vivid characterizations, the dialogues that ring true, the penetrating observations, the intense and toxic lover's quarrels, and the tender romance that unfolds, it has a poetic quality that elevates it.

Son, a handsome and intelligent but uneducated black man from Eloe in north Florida, flees his troubles by jumping ship in the Caribbean and ends up on the Isle des Chevaliers. He has committed a crime and is tired of constantly fearing capture. Hungry and weak, he makes his way to a mansion on the tallest hill. He enters the unlocked home and lives there unnoticed for five days, stealing a little food like chocolate and some bottles of water, hiding in closets and only emerging at night. He discovers that in addition to the wealthy old man Valerian Street, his younger trophy wife Margaret, the black cook Ondine, and the butler Sydney, there is a young black woman named Jadine, the niece of the servants. Son secretly watches Jadine sleep at night and falls in love with her.

The relationship between Valerian and Margaret is tense. In his 80s, Valerian is content in his greenhouse, while Margaret is planning a Christmas dinner and inviting their long-absent son Michael. One night, Margaret discovers Son in her closet, and chaos ensues. However, Valerian invites Son to stay for dinner, and a conversation develops. Jade joins in, and Son is surprised by her friendliness towards the old white man who has been her patron. Son is allowed to stay in the house for a few days while Valerian tries to obtain papers for him to return to the US.

Christmas arrives, but Michael and the other guests do not show up. Valerian invites the servants to share the dinner. During the meal, Ondine reveals a shocking secret about Margaret's treatment of young Michael. This disclosure has a profound impact on everyone. Son takes the opportunity to pursue a relationship with Jade, and they become lovers, escaping to New York for a romantic winter. However, in Eloe, their differences in education and perception of the world lead to fights and insults. In the end, Jade returns to the island, finding that the estate has regained some order. She decides to go back to Paris, where she has a successful modeling career and a white suitor.

A week later, Son comes to the island in search of Jade. Instead, he is tricked by Valerian's former washerwoman into a more dangerous pursuit. There are rumors of hundreds of horsemen on the island, descendants of the first slaves. The washerwoman encourages Son to join them as she drops him off on a remote beach. As the book ends, Son runs into the hills to join the wild horsemen, whether they truly exist or not. It is a stunning story that reveals much about human nature, relationships, and the search for identity. The audio book, beautifully read by Desiree Coleman, adds another layer of depth to this already captivating work.

Prose as purple as an eggplant.

It seems to lack any real cohesion, a clear theme, or even a proper plot.

There is a most random assortment of characters, all of them one-dimensional and mere caricatures, mind you, thrown together on an island that is equally one-dimensional and caricatured.

What on earth is going on? How did this come to be? But why? No one has a clue.

This is truly a painful book to read, and it doesn't seem to say much about anything of significance.

Oh, it does touch on the topic of race a little, but only in a way that reaffirms the tired racial and gender stereotypes of the "dangerous black criminal" and the "plastic-beautiful woman".

The prose quickly becomes tiring and unpleasant. After just a few pages, or even words, it gets increasingly difficult to find the motivation to continue reading.

Overall, this book might make a fantastic object, but only as a paperweight, a door-stopper, or something along those lines. It fails to engage the reader on any meaningful level and is ultimately a disappointment.

My personal opinion on the book? Well, I firmly believe that the book was truly terrible and I would not recommend it to anyone.

I say this because the book seemed to be completely irrelevant. I really could not fathom why it was written in the first place.

To make matters worse, it was extremely boring. There was absolutely no action at all, and the first few chapters were just meaningless drivel.

If I had to rate the book out of 5 stars, I would literally give it a 1 star. I would give it that paltry score only because the author at least made an attempt to write something.

Other than that, the book itself was just horrible. It was rather difficult to read initially, but as I persisted, I began to understand the language based on the time period it was set in.

If I had the power to do so, I would change a great many things about the book. I would infuse it with more action and give it a deeper, more profound meaning.

In my opinion, the book lacked a great deal of things, including a clear and coherent theme. I simply did not understand the message that Toni Morrison was trying to convey to her readers.

Overall, I did not enjoy this book one bit. If I were you, I would definitely not pick up this novel. But hey, if you happen to like reading boring books and need something to lull you to sleep, then here it is, your very own Nyquil.

Tar Baby was the #ReadSoulLit read along selection for this year, and my feelings towards this story are truly conflicted. Toni Morrison is not an author whose stories can be easily breezed through. It demands true concentration and thoughtfulness to navigate through one of her books. She takes her readers to some extremely dark places and leaves them to decipher a character's true motivation, which is actually a good aspect.

Tar Baby, of course, delves into themes of race and the tensions among people of the same race, as seen through how we treat one another. It also explores the acceptance of being treated poorly because that's how one perceives oneself. The interactions among the characters are peculiar, and their reasoning can sometimes be baffling.

Overall, I'm still uncertain about how I feel regarding Tar Baby. However, it was the ending that really got to me. I don't agree with the lack of action taken to protect a child at the end. I understand the need to protect oneself and stay out of the crosshairs of vindictive people, but when children are involved, I believe risks should be taken. There are two adult women who chose not to take action for very different reasons, but both were deal breakers for me.

Tar Baby is a book that I will need to read several times before I can claim to understand most of what was presented. Right now, I'm aware that I don't fully grasp it. I'm sure I didn't invest the amount of attention to the details that I should have. I really regret not participating in the discussion of this one, but at the time, I didn't feel that my thoughts were coherent enough to share!

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**Tar Baby: A Complex Tale of Identity and Seduction**

I remembered practically nothing from my first read of this (thirty years ago), so it was all fresh. However, I did have Morrison’s comments about the folktale she was exploring (not retelling) in my head. In the version she heard growing up, the tar baby was female, with the big implication being it was a Black seductress.

An obvious “tar baby” of the novel is Jadine. Son insists on calling her by her real name, while her benefactors, friends, and in her career, she is called Jade. Son also insists on Yardman being called by his real name (Gideon), and the same with the true names of the indigenous women of the island who are dismissively called Mary by the colonizers. There’s an irony to this insistence as Son, a man on the run, has several fake identifications.

Jade is seduced by Son, as much as (or more than) the other way around. When he first enters her bedroom, though she is unaware of the intrusion, he is the one that smells like tar. The romantic scenes off the fictional Caribbean island and in New York might’ve been too much, but they’re needed for what comes next. In the small North Florida town Son is from and then back in NYC, the relationship swings violent. At one point, Son tries to warn Jade with the Tar Baby story, starting it with an emphasis on “the white farmer.” She threatens to kill him if he continues. The eyes of the ‘white farmer’ of Morrison’s novel are “without melanin” and his name is Valerian.

One of the most striking scenes is a fantastical one of Jade being sucked into tarry quicksand under trees on the island that also want to gather her in. No one has thrown her in the ‘briar patch;’ she has gone there willingly. She thinks she needs someone to help her out, but no one is nearby. What is the island trying to tell her? Is she now the rabbit? There’s no doubt who the rabbit is by the end of the book, and it’s not Jadine.

Morrison said all the characters in this book are looking for safety. I’d call it security, but it’s the same thing—a never-ending, elusive quest of imperfect beings who think they can find it in other imperfect beings. This novel delves deep into the themes of identity, race, love, and the search for something more, making it a truly thought-provoking read.

I’m currently delving deep into Morrison’s extensive bibliography. And I have to say, this particular work stands out as my favorite thus far.

Unlike some of her other books that can be quite jarring and have complex thematic layers, this one has a different kind of impact.

Surprisingly, it remains incredibly relevant even after 40+ years. The themes and messages it conveys are so poignant and timely that they truly tug at the heartstrings.

It’s almost as if the story was written yesterday, addressing issues that are still very much a part of our society today.

Reading it, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness and empathy. It really did hurt my feelings in the best possible way, making me reflect on the human condition and the power of literature to touch our souls.

I’m eager to see what other treasures await me as I continue my exploration of Morrison’s works.

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Toni Morrison is indeed one of the most highly acclaimed writers of our era. After delving into her novel and experiencing its unique structure, I can truly fathom the reasons behind her acclaim. The third-person narration in the novel seamlessly shifts its focus from one character to another without a moment's pause. This fluidity mirrors the Caribbean waters that hold a significant role within the story, adding an extra layer of depth and authenticity.

Despite her remarkable writing prowess, I found myself disappointed with the novel's ending. I was particularly angered by the fact that after the shocking revelation of Margaret's abuse of her son, no one seemed to make any effort to make amends with the clearly damaged boy. Perhaps this is a realistic portrayal of how things might have unfolded in real life. It is undeniably challenging to begin mending such a profound rupture within a family unit after so many years have passed. However, if we are to consider the story from a realistic perspective, the romance between Son and Jadine simply did not make sense to me. It takes the concept of love at first sight to an entirely new and perhaps implausible level. Someone with Jadine's worldly view and sophisticated outlook would not, in my opinion, run away with a man like Son. While in the end, she does come to her senses and it appears that everything reverts back to normal (with Jadine gallivanting around Europe being courted and the Streets avoiding their problems in the Caribbean, and Ondine and Sydney loyally serving them), I firmly believe that the romance should not have even begun in the first place.

I truly appreciated Morrison's writing style and her incisive examination of white guilt, class, and freedom. However, I must admit that I found myself more drawn to the vivid details and the emotional core of the story (the flesh) rather than the underlying structure and framework (the bones).

I liked this book, but I didn’t love it.

According to Toni Morrison, the prose within the book was beautiful. It was filled with vivid descriptions and a lyrical quality that was truly remarkable.

However, despite its beauty, it just didn’t hit me on a deeper level. Maybe it was because the themes didn’t resonate with me as strongly as I had hoped.

Or perhaps it was that I couldn’t fully connect with the characters and their experiences.

Nonetheless, I can still appreciate the artistry and skill that went into writing this book.

Toni Morrison is a masterful storyteller, and her work is definitely worth reading.

Even though this particular book didn’t become one of my all-time favorites, it has still left an impression on me and made me eager to explore more of her writing.

Wow, I was truly and pleasantly surprised by the remarkable depth and eloquence that I discovered within the pages of this book.

The exploration of the relationships between and within races, sexes, and cultures is simply incredibly insightful. Toni Morrison does not hold back any comments that might potentially make the reader uncomfortable, and I found myself laughing out loud at the reality of the characters' reactions, specifically when it comes to the discovery of Son in the closet.

I have to admit, however, that I was infuriated by the lack of closure in the book. As I reached the last sentence, I was praying that there was another chapter hidden somewhere. In fact, I even had to reread a chapter to see if I had missed something crucial about the ending. But alas, it just ends abruptly, leaving me with a sense of dissatisfaction and longing for more.

Despite this flaw, the overall quality and power of the book cannot be denied. It has truly made an impact on me and has left me thinking deeply about the complex themes and ideas that it presents.