Manchester District Library Book Club discussion

Our first book is Beloved by Toni Morrison. Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for this novel in 1988, and then won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.

Beloved is based on the true story of Margaret Garner. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret...

This painting, titled "The Modern Medea", was done by Thomas Satterwhite Noble in 1867. It portrays a tragic event from 1856 in which Margaret Garner, a fugitive slave mother, has murdered one of her children, rather than see it returned to slavery.

This picture of a slave with a "tree" of scars on his back is from the Life Magazine archives, hosted by Google. It's what Sethe's back must have looked like--unbelievable that humans could do this to another person.

Good discussion tonight (October 23); the group gave Beloved 4 stars.

I enjoyed last night's discussion, especially when James brought up the term "magical realism" because the narrative technique and the presence of a ghost as a carácter reminded me of South American novels I have read, particularly García Márquez. I joined the group because I have a bad habit of re-reading favorites over and over, rather than seeking out new experiences. As I would never want to read this novel again, I would have to give it 3 stars. I appreciate Morrison's mastery of her craft.