Song of Solomon (SparkNotes Literature Guide) (Volume 5) (SparkNotes Literature Guide Series)

By SparkNotes and Toni Morrison

They're today's most popular study guides-with everything you need to succeed in school. Written by Harvard students for students, since its inception SparkNotesTM has developed a loyal community of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586638262
• ISBN13: 9781586638269
• Release Date: December 2002
• Publisher: SparkNotes
• Length: 88 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.3" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

One of Toni Morrison's best novels

With passion and a voice that sings with beautiful detail and magic, Toni Morrison's third novel, published in 1977, is a powerful tale that follows the lives of a black family and their friends living in a Michigan city. In 1931, Macon Dead III, later nicknamed Milkman, is prematurely brought into the world, the first black child born in Mercy Hospital, just after his mother witnesses the brief flight of a man determined to fly from the cupola of the hospital. Although the novel revolves around Milkman, the stories spun out from him embrace a wide variety of characters and experiences. Morrison explores the lasting stamp of slavery through the name of Macon Dead; the intimate culture of women through Pilate, Reba, and Hagar; the hunger for property and respectability through Milkman's father; the idea of one's "people" through those in the South who have not forgotten connections; the violence of civil rights through Guitar; and many more issues facing blacks of the times and today. Despite the resonance of history, this novel is ultimately about its people and their eagerly lived lives. Morrison plunges her readers into their hearts with a humanity and skill too few novelists possess. The result is a remarkably emotional and intelligent story that will stay with you for a long time.Readers should not be intimidated by Morrison's Nobel Prize Winner status, as this novel, like most of her others, is written in startling but accessible language. You don't need an advanced degree (or even a specific race or gender) to slip into her magical prose. Her characters are real and fully realized, and feel like friends, even when you might want to shake them to their senses. Although some readers will be puzzled by the end, wanting perhaps the next sentence that explains it all, Morrison has included by her omission the real meaning of her book. Visit with it for a few moments before closing the cover.I highly recommend this book for a wide range of readers, from high school students to adults. Even though it was written in the 1970's, its themes and characters still have relevance today. Morrison is one of the world's literary gifts, and should not be missed. THE SONG OF SOLOMON is one of her best novels.

not for book clubs, but a masterpiece

this book is not for a reader who wants a simple plot or who is not willing to concentrate on the text and think about it on numerous levels. in fact, it may even be a dangerous book for people like that. i have heard morrison called a racist, and i have heard her called a degrader of her own race, and unfortunately this is because her work lacks the inane quality of so many other works today that fit so easily into simple categories. so many readers today want works that reinforce their own sense of themselves, that make broad statements that have already been made, such as 'racism is bad,' and that consequently make them feel good by presenting plots that include them on the side of right. this author's work is hardly aimed at such generic ideals. instead, morrison weaves tales that destroy the very notion of racial superiority, setting up oppositions that not only show in detail the horrors of white discimination, but also the devestating effects of internal attempts by black groups or individuals at creating a heirarchy of their own where they might be superior to other blacks. this novel is about the lunacy of existing through stereotypical perceptions, and more importantly the horrific consequences of hate from all sides and the redeeming qualities of love from all sides. it is about so much more, but at its simplest level, it is about being american. this book is not for everyone, but if you're willing to think extremely hard about each page, and not afraid to accept that something of yourself, no matter what your race or gender may be, is almost certainly going to be indicted within it, by all means devour this incredibly beautiful and powerful story with no self-illusions, because it will make you a better person to have done it. this is toni morrison's masterpiece, and quite simply one of the greatest american novels of the 20th century.

'Song' Lyricism

If you are a fan of Toni Morrison, this is your definitive book. Otherwise, you may be turned off by its broken time and biblical allusions. Either way, do not worry, for everyone can learn to appreciate Morrison's masterpiece of lyrical prose. This novel entails Milkman's journey from fractured family pride to a greedy hunt for hidden gold. Its opening may seem mysterious and inscrutable, but if the reader continues his pursuit he will find a great payoff. Morrison's works require close reading and a fair memory. I recommend reading as much as possible of her books in one sitting and while clear- and open-minded. One of the joys of taking in her poetic words lies in the shaping of the works' characters. In 'Song of Solomon,' we watch Milkman from his very infancy, learn the origins of his nickname, and are forced to wonder what has happened to him in the end. Morrison chronicles his troubled family's history, once again even delving into how the family mistakenly acquired their last name: 'Dead.' My only words of encouragement: stay focused and pay attention and appreciate what Toni Morrison does for American literature with each of her creations and the boundless effects of their words.

Tears, ebony tears, that turn to type and illuminate....

I've read SOS going on four or five times now, floored, awestruck, enraptured each time, every twist and turn a new surprise arrives. Milkman is a wonderful archetype for a Black man searching for what he can claim as his own. His mind, his body, his sex, money? What is his and not tainted by the past, by racism, by internal family feuding? This is what I call a "Patience Book", you have to sit with it the way you would sit with a child on a Sunday afternoon. Patience. You have to breathe in rhythm with this book. Morrison is one of those few writers that it's silly to ask all of your questions of even after you finish the book. Pick it right back up and breathe, savor each page, have patience. It is not an easy read for it is literature and you are reading, truly reading. Not surfing through pulp fiction knwoing that the hero lives, the heroine is saved and everybody sleeps well on the last page. Uh uh. Patience. What else but patience could you use to understand Magdalene, Pilate, Corinthians? My all time, all time, all time favorite literary scene that chills me, tears me up, knocks me around hard and then uplifts me: Pilate at the funeral. "That was my baby, That's my baby, AND SHE WAS LOVED!" Honey, welcome to real African American literature, impossible to translate to film for this is patience reading. Patience, free at last, free at last!