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Alex

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Alex is Currently Reading

Alex is currently reading

Song of Solomon

by Toni Morrison

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in May 2016

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Alex said: " Song of Solomon showcases Morrison's ability to deeply touch the readers' emotions while weaving just the right amount of mysticism into her visceral writing.

In Song of Solomon, we meet Milkman, named so because of his mother's prolonged obsession wi Song of Solomon showcases Morrison's ability to deeply touch the readers' emotions while weaving just the right amount of mysticism into her visceral writing.

In Song of Solomon, we meet Milkman, named so because of his mother's prolonged obsession with breastfeeding him, his mother Ruth, and his father, Macon Dead. Morrison gives great detailed to the depth of her characters. Like layers, aspects of them are slowly peeled away as we learn more of their individual stories and how they came to be themselves, even minor characters are well-developed and play important roles.

The plot of the story slowly begins to take shape as Milkman comes of age. The plot seems to be guided by the mysteriousness that surrounds the relationship between his father, and somewhat estranged and eccentric sister, Pilate, who Milkman is forbidden to visit. He defies this decree and growing closer to his estranged relatives as Pilate has a daughter and granddaughter. He finds himself mesmerized by this granddaughter who is also his cousin.

Milkman's relationship with his estranged aunt leads to a breakthrough with his father who has always come off as a hard, cold man. Macon Dead warns Milkman, that Palate is a snake, although he gives little explanation as to why he feels this way. Macon Dead then begins to open up about his childhood and his father, which softens up his character a bit. Milkman seems to become a little closer to is father after this.

Yet, an incident takes place, when Milkman is twenty-two. During an argument that results in Macon Dead striking Milkman's mother, Milkman strikes his father and knocks him down. It is an incident that is surrounded by many contradictions of emotions on the part of Milkman and his father. This incident results in Macon Dead revealing some things to Milkman about his mother that are quite shocking. This adds to the already seemingly bizarre sexual aspects of the story. Ruth seems to have some perverse tendencies, aside from the previous breastfeeding, it is implied that she may have had sexual encounters with her father, according to Macon Dead. This revelation is coupled with the fact that we learn around the same time that Milkman is sleeping with Hagar, his cousin that he has always been infatuated with since he met her as a child.

Song of Solomon is full of raw emotion and Morrison doesn't fail to keep interest, with the elements of mysticism and the twisting turns that the plot takes. This is the second story of Morrison's I've read, the first being The Bluest Eye. I describe it as visceral because she knows how to portray her characters from the inside out, and the symbology in the writing style, such as when she says of Milkman, "He always looked backwards as if he had no future." Her style is very distinct and difficult to describe in words because it's more about the feeling it gives you. It's shocking because of the angles from which she approaches her characters, portraying them in one way until a reader feels like they know them. Then Morrison reveals something else, that causes one to re-evaluate what they thought they knew or felt about a character. This was the case for me with many characters in this story. Readers are constantly driven to shift their perspectives of how they view a character as new information is learned.

There are points where the plot gets "out there", such as when it seems the story turned into some kind of treasure hunt for lost gold. But these moments last just long enough before it seems that the author reels you back in to the main story as she delves into the the thoughts of Milkman as he analyzes the actions of those around him. Morrison is really good at offering very multi-dimensional stories. The theme that is clear to me in Song of Solomon is that everyone has a story to tell, and you really don't know what you think you know until you've heard that person's side of things. Milkman spends most of his life despising the very people who cater to him, but by the end of the story he filled with regret for his actions and views nearly everyone he knows differently. Morrison takes you on a trip in which you love characters one minute, hate them the next, and then love them again, as you learn more of their story. Milkman goes on this trip himself. He begins to understand his father's greed having violently lost his own father and a hefty inheritance and his mother's bizarre behavior as an unloved wife who also lost her father, the only person she felt truly cared for her.

This story about this young man's search for who he is and who his people are is eloquently told. The distinct standout element of Morrison's writing, for me, is in the detailed descriptive elements rather than the plot itself. Her description of the people and their ways, culture, and folklore. They are little gems placed throughout the book that I find myself going back to read over and over again. These brief portions of the book are not only relevant to the understanding of the story, but are true to life in general. See this brief excerpt and this one ...more "

progress:

(page 232 of 337)
""Things work out, son. The ways of God are mysterious, but if you live it out, just live it out, you see that it always works out. Nothing they stole or killed for did'em a bit of good. Not one bit."" — May 01, 2016 08:11AM

May 07, 2016 10:47PM · see review

Alex is currently reading

Thick: And Other Essays

by Tressie McMillan Cottom (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Feb 25, 2026 06:53PM

Alex is currently reading

Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions

by Temple Grandin

bookshelves: currently-reading, nerdstuff

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progress:

(page 25 of 340)
"Visual thinking is not about seeing per se... Visual thinking refers to the way the mind works. To the way we perceive." — Nov 01, 2025 04:42PM

Oct 09, 2025 07:22PM

See all 12 books that Alex is reading…

Alex’s Notes & Highlights

Book cover for The Basics of User Experience Design: A UX Design Book by the Interaction Design Foundation

The Basics of User Experience Design: A UX Design Book by the Interaction Design Foundation by Mads Soegaard

2 notes & 31 highlights

The sheer number of topics covered in UX design is mind-boggling: there’s interaction design (the psychology of motion and feedback), design thinking (an iterative, empathy-based problem-solving process), and usability (how easily a product ...more

Alex’s Quotes

“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
― Toni Morrison

tags: books, writing

20763 likes

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou

89379 likes

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
― George Eliot

tags: inspirational, misattributed, source-unknown

33906 likes

“All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshipped. Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood.”
― Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

tags: blood, cruelty, fear, gods, religion, suffering

466 likes