Song of Solomon

Toni Morrison is another lion of modern literature. Although her output is modest compared to some others of her generation, the quality of that output was high enough for her to earn just about every literary award there is, including the Nobel Prize in Literature. Still, as with many other authors of her caliber, I had yet to read any of her work until this year.

Song of Solomon is an amazing book and I'm glad it was the first Toni Morrison novel I read. The book is really about identity, especially identity for African Americans who are only able to trace their lineage back so far. The dedication reads, "The fathers may soar And the children may know their names".

The story concerns the Dead family: Macon, his wife, his son, and his two daughters in addition to his sister and her daughter and granddaughter. The main character is son 'Milkman' Dead (so named because of the fact that he breastfed until he could stand on his own feet). The story follows Milkman throughout his life from his younger days as a constant source of disappointment to his father through his joining and maintaining the family business and finally through his search for his grandfather's true identity. Along the way we meet an amazing cast of characters: First Corinthians and Magdalene called Lena, Milkman's sisters; Pilate, his semi-divine aunt; her daughter Ruth and her granddaughter Hagar who falls hopelessly and dangerously in love with Milkman.

Milkman's best friend Guitar offers a contrast to Milkman in both mission and temperament. While Milkman spends the majority of the book thinking of his own needs and trying to get ahead, Guitar has been led to a different path. Guitar belongs to a group that is trying to level the playing field between whites and blacks, with a surprising way of how to accomplish that.

The ending is somewhat ambiguous, but very satisfying. Milkman, facing Guitar down, learns to truly embrace the legacy of his grandfather's people as he learns to fly.

The story of this novel is excellent, but it is Morrison's prose that makes it so fantastic to read. It takes a couple dozen pages to fall into her cadence, but once you do, the story flows by like a river. I read a lot of books this year, but this one will definitely stand out in my mind for many years to come.