I listed to this on audiobook via Libby.

Toni Morrison is an actual genius. Like, next level intelligent, too smart for me, genius. I was really confused for the first few chapters of this book, until I fell into the rhythm of her writing. Even once I did, a low level of confusion accompanied me throughout the reading experience. Morrison narrates this herself, and her voice instantly drew me in and wouldn't let me even consider DNF'ing, no matter how confused I was. I think this book could easily be classified as a modern classic, if for no other reason than the level of complexity. The Author's Note at the end of the book helped me understand the goals of the work, and I even suggested to my friend reading or listening to that first, to put the novel into context. This book is not easy to read. CW for child abuse, pedophilia, sexual assault of a child, racism, anti-Blackness, and poverty, among others. However, the symbolism and social commentary are incredibly relevant, even though this is a work of historical fiction. The closing quote of the book stuck out to me, especially given the recent murder of several Black men and women amidst a global pandemic. It goes like this, "This soil is bad for certain kinds of flowers. Certain seeds it will not nurture. Certain fruit it will not bear. And when the land kills of it's own volition, we acquiesce, and say the victim had no right to life. We are wrong of course, but it doesn't matter. It's too late."