Beloved

I think I have typed and re-typed this first sentence one million times, but alas Beloved is a book that does not need an introduction. To experience this book is to experience brilliance.

I can sit here and wonder all day and night why this was not present on any syllabus during my high school or college years, even though to me it is an ESSENTIAL American text. But we all know why. The answer is always simple: racism, and probably more specifically misogynoir. Of course I read Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, even had to read Uncle Tom’s Cabin in an American Protest Lit class in college, but anything by Toni Morrison? Not anywhere. And those three books? All written by white people. The first time I read anything by Morrison, my college years were well behind me. I can just be thankful that today, I can experience her works of art easily and engage in conversations with readers Like @readwithemilyg and @becksisreading . It was really special to share this reading experience with those two, and reaffirms why I love being here so much. I probably think about this book a few times a week. With book bannings on the rise across the states I feel nothing but sadness and anger as access to this tectonic work (as well as many of her others) is severely limited in American classrooms. What a fucking egregious omission to not be given the opportunity to study Toni Morrison in an American Literature class as a junior in high school or even in college as writing minor.

Read this book if you have not already. And read it with friends if you can! If not, I’m around, and this novel is simply unforgettable. I also suggest listening to the @thestackspod episode breaking it down. It was a really great conversation that helped us digest the text even further.

#Beloved #ToniMorrison #EssentialReading #EssentialAmericanBooks #BrilliantBooks #BooksYouHaveToRead #ReadMoreBooks #AmericanLiterature #ReadBooksByBlackWomen #20BooksByBlackWomen #bookstagram