Song of Solomon
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- Create Date：2021-05-26 11:56:51
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Toni Morrison
- ISBN：0099768410
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Summary
‘Song of Solomon…profoundly changed my life’ Marlon James
Macon ‘Milkman’ Dead was born shortly after a neighbourhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight。 For the rest of his life he， too， will be trying to fly。
In 1930s America Macon learns about the tyranny of white society from his friend Guitar， though he is more concerned with escaping the familial tyranny of his own father。 So while Guitar joins a terrorist group Macon goes home to the South， lured by tales of buried family treasure。 But his odyssey back home and a deadly confrontation with Guitar leads to the discovery of something infinitely more valuable than gold: his past and the origins of his true self。
‘The story of Milkman Dead and Guitar had me in thrall’ Salman Rushdie， New York Times
BY THE NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF BELOVED
Winner of the PEN/Saul Bellow award for achievement in American fiction
Macon ‘Milkman’ Dead was born shortly after a neighbourhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight。 For the rest of his life he， too， will be trying to fly。
In 1930s America Macon learns about the tyranny of white society from his friend Guitar， though he is more concerned with escaping the familial tyranny of his own father。 So while Guitar joins a terrorist group Macon goes home to the South， lured by tales of buried family treasure。 But his odyssey back home and a deadly confrontation with Guitar leads to the discovery of something infinitely more valuable than gold: his past and the origins of his true self。
‘The story of Milkman Dead and Guitar had me in thrall’ Salman Rushdie， New York Times
BY THE NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF BELOVED
Winner of the PEN/Saul Bellow award for achievement in American fiction
Reviews
Lynn Donohue
，
Spellbinding and original。 Morrison’s prose is as memorable and lyrical， as it is arresting。 “ When they succeeded they rode the wind and covered their mouths with exaggerated laughter。 And when they didn’t， when someone out-insulted them， or ignored them， or sent them running， they wise-cracked and name-called until the sweat of embarrassment evaporated from the palms of their hands。Now they were men， and the terror they needed to provoke in others， if for no other reason than to feel it themse Spellbinding and original。 Morrison’s prose is as memorable and lyrical， as it is arresting。 “ When they succeeded they rode the wind and covered their mouths with exaggerated laughter。 And when they didn’t， when someone out-insulted them， or ignored them， or sent them running， they wise-cracked and name-called until the sweat of embarrassment evaporated from the palms of their hands。Now they were men， and the terror they needed to provoke in others， if for no other reason than to feel it themselves， was rarer but not lighter。 Dominion won by fear and secured by fear was still sweeter than any that could be got any other way。 （ except for woman， who they liked to win with charm but keep with indifference。） “No wonder her novels are revered as contemporary American classics。 。。。more
Henley
，
"They want us， you know， 'universal'， human， no 'race consciousness。' Tame， except in bed。 They like a little racial loincloth in the bed" （222）。 "They want us， you know， 'universal'， human， no 'race consciousness。' Tame， except in bed。 They like a little racial loincloth in the bed" （222）。 。。。more
Marti
，
Why in the world did this book sit on my shelves for so long？ I loved the story and the storytelling。
Jesse Engel
，
Wonderful love story
Diana Turchi
，
short but powerful story。 loved that the audio book was read by Toni Morrison herself。
Brad Walters
，
In 10th grade， I read this book in English class with Ms。 Lehman， one of the most idiosyncratic， challenging， charming teachers I’ve ever had。 I loved it。 Rereading it now， it’s even better。 This is a beautiful book that will always have a place in my heart and mind。 The combination of textured characters， deep and omnipresent symbolism， and yearning for answers is immensely affecting and memorable。
Kathleen
，
When Macon Dead was a teen， and his sister Pilate six years younger， their father was killed for his Pennsylvania land and the motherless children are taken in and hidden by a neighbor。 Eventually Macon and Pilate separate and Macon moves to Michigan where he becomes a slum landlord。 As a reaction to his father losing his property， Macon weds a woman with a wealthy father， hoards his money and his property and trains his son， Milkman， to follow in his footsteps。 He cares for no one in his commun When Macon Dead was a teen， and his sister Pilate six years younger， their father was killed for his Pennsylvania land and the motherless children are taken in and hidden by a neighbor。 Eventually Macon and Pilate separate and Macon moves to Michigan where he becomes a slum landlord。 As a reaction to his father losing his property， Macon weds a woman with a wealthy father， hoards his money and his property and trains his son， Milkman， to follow in his footsteps。 He cares for no one in his community and is cruel to his wife。Pilate surfaces in their town and Milkman becomes entranced with her and develops a sexual relationship with her granddaughter。 Macon believes that his sister has a hoard of gold from their father and Milkman goes in search of it and ends up following his roots。 The Song of Solomon now becomes the story of a Black family and its roots。When I finished reading the Song of Solomon， I wanted to immediately go back to the first page and read it again。 Now that I knew the full story， I felt the need to pick up each piece and examine it again。 But I won’t， for now。The Song of Solomon was slow at first， but gradually picked up as I become more familiar with Macon， Pilate and Milkman。 I was surprised at how Macon and Milkman put everyone down， including their family。 They have no respect for anyone。 It seems that because they have no status， they attempt to raise themselves up by putting others down。 Often I did not understand the characters and what they chose to do。 Song of Solomon has a Black author and Black characters and portrays Black cultures。 What is the author， Toni Morrison， trying to tell me？ Is it that Black people have roots and want to know and understand their ancestors？Several incidents in the book remind me of Virginia Hamilton’s book， The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales which I read over thirty years ago。 。。。more
Evan
，
Wow。 Absolutely phenomenal book。Having never read any Toni Morrison but having some idea of what to expect， this book blew me away。 What starts as seemingly disparate threads and random tales becomes a captivating narrative that draws you in deeper and deeper。 The occasional time skip in the beginning of the book can be confusing at first， but usually occurs at the beginning of a chapter。 Beyond that point， the story all takes place in the same time period with a relatively straightforward chron Wow。 Absolutely phenomenal book。Having never read any Toni Morrison but having some idea of what to expect， this book blew me away。 What starts as seemingly disparate threads and random tales becomes a captivating narrative that draws you in deeper and deeper。 The occasional time skip in the beginning of the book can be confusing at first， but usually occurs at the beginning of a chapter。 Beyond that point， the story all takes place in the same time period with a relatively straightforward chronology。 The description of the book provides a sufficient summary of what to expect。 If you’re a fan of a gripping story， characters with depth and ever-changing outlooks， and being spoon-fed information with an occasional exposition dump， you’ll highly enjoy this tale。 Milkman proves to be an extremely compelling character。 At times， it feels like he never learns。 Other times it seems as though he’s rapidly undergoing a perspective shift。 In the first few chapters， I didn’t think I’d be nearly as drawn in as I was by about halfway through。 This book becomes an absolute page turner and I’m so happy that I read it。 I would recommend it to anyone。 。。。more
Alisa
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I love her voice and poetic use of language。 The rich and complex characters， the way they interact with each other， their idiosyncrasies and colloquialisms， how matter-of-fact they are about their personal tragedies。 Interesting take on origin and family。
Lucy Ames
，
4。5I loved this book and can't wait to re-read it and uncover all the foreshadowing and discover new things in Morrison's writing！ The only reason it's not a five star for me is because the writing is so layered that at times I found the story hard to follow， but all in all this book is phenomenal and I adored it :）） 4。5I loved this book and can't wait to re-read it and uncover all the foreshadowing and discover new things in Morrison's writing！ The only reason it's not a five star for me is because the writing is so layered that at times I found the story hard to follow， but all in all this book is phenomenal and I adored it :）） 。。。more
Varun Bhargava
，
Few authors talk about black history with vivid detail， Toni Morrison being one of them。 This is the first time that I've picked up one of her novels。With Song of Solomon， the transition from the present day to mid-twentieth-century America felt seamless。 While the protagonist of the story， Milkman Dead discovers himself in the story as he grows up into a fine adult， I could find myself face to face with racial prejudice and how the community at that point was trying to tackle it by sometimes la Few authors talk about black history with vivid detail， Toni Morrison being one of them。 This is the first time that I've picked up one of her novels。With Song of Solomon， the transition from the present day to mid-twentieth-century America felt seamless。 While the protagonist of the story， Milkman Dead discovers himself in the story as he grows up into a fine adult， I could find myself face to face with racial prejudice and how the community at that point was trying to tackle it by sometimes laughing it off and retaliating at other times。It is tough to imagine those times of racial injustice， but even tougher is the way of presenting it so that it touches even those who were never a part of it。This novel was as beautiful as any human life could be。 。。。more
Shannon
，
Ugh。 Amazing。 Toni Morrison is amazing。 Poetic。
Lori Brandston
，
Beautiful。 Filled with feeling and unexpected turns。
Kim
，
This book lives up to the reviews。 Intriguing， captivating， tragic and uplifting。
Joshua Dew
，
Such depth！ Such complexity！ Brilliant imagery and symbolism。 One of those books that need to be re-read and studied to fully appreciate。
Shailesh Dhume
，
A interesting character study brimming with interesting characters and embellished with lyrical prose。 Morrison's observations on social life are also insightful。 What made the book less interesting for me was the lack of a coherent plot。 Also there is just too much focus on one community to the extent that there are no characters outside of the community in the whole book。 A interesting character study brimming with interesting characters and embellished with lyrical prose。 Morrison's observations on social life are also insightful。 What made the book less interesting for me was the lack of a coherent plot。 Also there is just too much focus on one community to the extent that there are no characters outside of the community in the whole book。 。。。more
Ben
，
FINALLY I'm down with the semester and have time to read physical books and not PDFs downloaded off JSTOR。Morrison is soooo good。 What else can you say？ Parts of this sing more delicately yet loudly than others， but it's really just a stunning book。 One thing I can say is that she's probably my favorite writer on intimacy。 Every moment of sexuality in this book breathes in and out the tender and the complex。 She can't keep getting away with this ！！！ FINALLY I'm down with the semester and have time to read physical books and not PDFs downloaded off JSTOR。Morrison is soooo good。 What else can you say？ Parts of this sing more delicately yet loudly than others， but it's really just a stunning book。 One thing I can say is that she's probably my favorite writer on intimacy。 Every moment of sexuality in this book breathes in and out the tender and the complex。 She can't keep getting away with this ！！！ 。。。more
Marie
，
Morrison forteller om denne romanen at hun ønsket å ta mannens perspektiv og vinkel， og det er kanskje det som trekker ned， noen av kvinnene blir bare sett med mannens briller på og desperate， hevngjerrige， kjærlighetssjuke damer ble litt feil。 MEN det er jo allikevel Toni Morrison vi snakker om her！ Språket og magien og familiehistorien med dype， vidstrakte røtter bærer boka og trekker en inn。 «We live here。 On this planet， in this nation， in this country right here。 Nowhere else！ We got a home Morrison forteller om denne romanen at hun ønsket å ta mannens perspektiv og vinkel， og det er kanskje det som trekker ned， noen av kvinnene blir bare sett med mannens briller på og desperate， hevngjerrige， kjærlighetssjuke damer ble litt feil。 MEN det er jo allikevel Toni Morrison vi snakker om her！ Språket og magien og familiehistorien med dype， vidstrakte røtter bærer boka og trekker en inn。 «We live here。 On this planet， in this nation， in this country right here。 Nowhere else！ We got a home on this rock， don’t you see！ Nobody starving in my home， nobody crying my home， and if I got a home you got one too！ Grab it。 Grab this land！ Take it， hold it， my brothers， make it， my brothers， shake it， squeeze it， turn it， twist it， beat it， kick it， kiss it， whip it， stomp it， dig it， plow it， seed it， reap it， rent it， buy it， sell it， own it， build it， multiply it， and pass it on - can you hear me？ Pass it on！” 。。。more
Phil
，
For me， this novel was a late save - for the entire first half I was finding it incredibly hard to get involved with the characters and the milieu。 The narrative would jump around between characters and between times and between place and I could pin nothing down and I couldn't relate to the situation at all and many was the time that I considered just laying it aside and considering it a rare DNF。But I stuck with it and it all changed for me when Hagar tried to kill Milkman - from then on the n For me， this novel was a late save - for the entire first half I was finding it incredibly hard to get involved with the characters and the milieu。 The narrative would jump around between characters and between times and between place and I could pin nothing down and I couldn't relate to the situation at all and many was the time that I considered just laying it aside and considering it a rare DNF。But I stuck with it and it all changed for me when Hagar tried to kill Milkman - from then on the novel seemed to finally coalesce and come together and drive forwards as the three narrative strands of the one generation of Hagar， Guitar and Milkman became focussed。 Milkman goes away initially to find gold but ultimately finds his own identity， while leaving behind lives he has unwittingly shattered。So， I'm glad I finished it。 It's satisfying when a novel can completely change the way I think about it this far through。 Would I appreciate the first half more now that I have completed the book？ Probably， but there are too many other novels to read to make it worthwhile。 。。。more
Ryan Young
，
Wow。 The depth and the richness of the story with all its layers just blew me away。 It was brutal and tragic and fantastic， but oh so real somehow。 I had chills reading Guitar’s soliloquy on the sheer evil of white folks。 I longed to give some defense， see him bend just a little， but he just persisted; cold， logical and remorseless。 His character is going to live in mind for a long time。
Trent Davis
，
Genuinely one of the greatest pieces of art I have ever consumed。 I use the word consumed because nothing else feels quite right to describe what reading this book is like。 Morrison doesn't not write， she paints。 Each sentence is a line， each paragraph a stroke， and the novel a portrait; a portrait of fear， love， loathing， happiness， monotony， adventure。。。 what doesn't it have？ The characters Morrison creates， the world that she builds， it feels almost too real。 I recently took kind of a long br Genuinely one of the greatest pieces of art I have ever consumed。 I use the word consumed because nothing else feels quite right to describe what reading this book is like。 Morrison doesn't not write， she paints。 Each sentence is a line， each paragraph a stroke， and the novel a portrait; a portrait of fear， love， loathing， happiness， monotony， adventure。。。 what doesn't it have？ The characters Morrison creates， the world that she builds， it feels almost too real。 I recently took kind of a long break from reading after struggling with a lot in my personal life and coming back into it with this grand piece of literature fills my heart with so much joy。 I firmly believe that， when you really need to see something or hear something or read something， that thing approaches you， you don't approach it。 Song of Solomon is what I needed in my life， and I'm damn grateful for Toni Morrison。 。。。more
Sarah
，
It was very long and frustrating to read。 The language is beautiful， but it is very slow。
Seb
，
AUDIOBOOK REVIEWI started listening to the audiobook narrated by Toni Morrison。 After about 1 hour， I had to stop because the narration is so stunningly bad that I couldn't fathom getting through the entier book。 I kept rewinding to make sure I had understood certain words or sentences。 The speed and volume of her voice kept changing and many words were mumbled。 It's not like you can get used to it， as she event changed how she pronounced certain names which kept me guessing about characters。 I AUDIOBOOK REVIEWI started listening to the audiobook narrated by Toni Morrison。 After about 1 hour， I had to stop because the narration is so stunningly bad that I couldn't fathom getting through the entier book。 I kept rewinding to make sure I had understood certain words or sentences。 The speed and volume of her voice kept changing and many words were mumbled。 It's not like you can get used to it， as she event changed how she pronounced certain names which kept me guessing about characters。 I have never returned an audiobook in my life until this one。I still want to read this so I'll be buying the paperback。 。。。more
Parker
，
It's a very short book， so I just decided to finish it。 The narration on the audiobook is terrible， so I had a hard time following it。 It sound like it was recorded on a cassette tape， there was constant recording noise in the background that was very distracting。 I think that was a large reason I was so unhappy with this book， it made it impossible to concentrate on the book itself。 It's a very short book， so I just decided to finish it。 The narration on the audiobook is terrible， so I had a hard time following it。 It sound like it was recorded on a cassette tape， there was constant recording noise in the background that was very distracting。 I think that was a large reason I was so unhappy with this book， it made it impossible to concentrate on the book itself。 。。。more
Savana Phillips
，
Amazing！！！ One of the best books I’ve read in a while & by far my favorite Morrison novel。 Will be rereading！！
Nancy
，
Stunning book that traces Macon Dead III's （Milkman）heroic quest for his identity。The plot is just cause and effect。 Something happens to a character （Milkman， Ruth （M's mother）， Pilate （M's aunt） or Macon Dead II （M's father）which causes more things to happen。The book turns from a coming of age narrative in part 1into a real page-turner in part 2as Milkman gathers more details of his ancestry。#Classic #MustRead #NobelPrizeWinningAuthor Stunning book that traces Macon Dead III's （Milkman）heroic quest for his identity。The plot is just cause and effect。 Something happens to a character （Milkman， Ruth （M's mother）， Pilate （M's aunt） or Macon Dead II （M's father）which causes more things to happen。The book turns from a coming of age narrative in part 1into a real page-turner in part 2as Milkman gathers more details of his ancestry。#Classic #MustRead #NobelPrizeWinningAuthor 。。。more
Chloe Czabaranek
，
I really enjoyed the themes of flight， origin， and names。 Including historical events with this story and Milkman’s development made this such a great read。
myla
，
toni morrison is a genius。 this book has so much complexity to its themes and voices that i could probably reread this over and over again and always find something new i hadn't noticed before。 i could write an incredibly long review with all of my thoughts on this book， buuuut i won't because i have bio homework to do :） toni morrison is a genius。 this book has so much complexity to its themes and voices that i could probably reread this over and over again and always find something new i hadn't noticed before。 i could write an incredibly long review with all of my thoughts on this book， buuuut i won't because i have bio homework to do :） 。。。more
Josh Heffernan
，
A book about growing up and finding your people。Milkman lives in Michigan with his parents， aunt， cousins， and sisters。 Their family dynamic is contentious and Milkman doesn't feel he fits in or is understood by anyone but his best friend Guitar。 Once a gown man， his rudderless lifestyle continues until he goes on a quest for gold and stumbles into a journey through his family's history。Toni M is a great writer and their are lines that will really stick with me， but on the whole I thought this b A book about growing up and finding your people。Milkman lives in Michigan with his parents， aunt， cousins， and sisters。 Their family dynamic is contentious and Milkman doesn't feel he fits in or is understood by anyone but his best friend Guitar。 Once a gown man， his rudderless lifestyle continues until he goes on a quest for gold and stumbles into a journey through his family's history。Toni M is a great writer and their are lines that will really stick with me， but on the whole I thought this book was just OK。 The beginning was hard to follow as time seemed to shift quickly and it was unclear who the main character was， but once Milkman goes on his journey to find "his people" it was much more enjoyable。 My favorite part， besides the one-liners， was the unveiling of Milkman's world as we see he is really just a child in a grown man's body。 His life is relatively easy and carefree but he still thinks his struggles are greater than everyone else's。 It's pretty clear that this book is not really about plot and is capital-L Literature so I think I might enjoy it more after re-reading or having a serious discussion with someone who knows what to look for。 。。。more
James
，
Sometimes you read a book and it's like， "I think I liked it but that it also went over my head。" Really not what I was expecting。 Not in a bad way， and I think that it was good， but I'm not really sure what to make of it。 Sometimes you read a book and it's like， "I think I liked it but that it also went over my head。" Really not what I was expecting。 Not in a bad way， and I think that it was good， but I'm not really sure what to make of it。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Song of Solomon
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Song of Solomon&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Song of Solomon&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0