About the Author

TONI MORRISON is the author of eleven novels, from The Bluest Eye (1970) to God Help the Child (2015). She received the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and in 1993 she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. She died in 2019.

Reviews

“A masterwork. . . . Wonderful. . . . I can’t imagine American literature without it.” —John Leonard, Los Angeles Times

“A triumph.” —Margaret Atwood, The New York Times Book Review

“Toni Morrison’s finest work. . . . [It] sets her apart [and] displays her prodigious talent.” —Chicago Sun-Times

“Dazzling. . . . Magical. . . . An extraordinary work.” —The New York Times

“A masterpiece. . . . Magnificent. . . . Astounding. . . . Overpowering.” —Newsweek

“Brilliant. . . . Resonates from past to present.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“A brutally powerful, mesmerizing story. . . . Read it and tremble.” —People

“Toni Morrison is not just an important contemporary novelist but a major figure in our national literature.” —New York Review of Books

“A work of genuine force. . . . Beautifully written.” —The Washington Post

“There is something great in Beloved: a play of human voices, consciously exalted, perversely stressed, yet holding true. It gets you.” —The New Yorker

“A magnificent heroine . . . a glorious book.” —The Baltimore Sun

“Superb. . . . A profound and shattering story that carries the weight of history. . . . Exquisitely told.” —Cosmopolitan

“Magical . . . rich, provocative, extremely satisfying.” —Milwaukee Journal

“Beautifully written. . . . Powerful. . . . Toni Morrison has become one of America’s finest novelists.” —The Plain Dealer

“Stunning. . . A lasting achievement.” —The Christian Science Monitor

“Written with a force rarely seen in contemporary fiction. . . . One feels deep admiration.” —USA Today

“Compelling . . . . Morrison shakes that brilliant kaleidoscope of hers again, and the story of pain, endurance, poetry and power she is born to tell comes right out.” —The Village Voice

“A book worth many rereadings.” —Glamour

“In her most probing novel, Toni Morrison has demonstrated once again the stunning powers that place her in the first ranks of our living novelists.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Heart-wrenching . . . mesmerizing.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Shattering emotional power and impact.” —New York Daily News

“A rich, mythical novel . . . a triumph.” —St. Petersburg Times

“Powerful . . . voluptuous.” —New York

Powerful is too tame a word to describe Toni Morrison's searing new novel of post-Civil War Ohio. Morrison, whose myth-laden storytelling shone in Song of Solomon and other novels, has created an unforgettable world in this novel about ex-slaves haunted by violent memories. Before the war, Sethe, pregnant, sent her children away to their grandmother in Ohio, whose freedom had been paid for by their father. Sethe runs too, but when her ``owners'' come to recapture her, she attempts to murder the children, succeeding with one, named Beloved. This murder will (literally) haunt Sethe for the rest of her life and affect everyone around her. A fascinating, grim, relentless story, this important book by a major writer belongs in most libraries. Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., Va.

"A masterwork. . . . Wonderful. . . . I can't imagine American literature without it." -John Leonard, Los Angeles Times

"A triumph." -Margaret Atwood, The New York Times Book Review

"Toni Morrison's finest work. . . . [It] sets her apart [and] displays her prodigious talent." -Chicago Sun-Times

"Dazzling. . . . Magical. . . . An extraordinary work." -The New York Times

"A masterpiece. . . . Magnificent. . . . Astounding. . . . Overpowering." -Newsweek

"Brilliant. . . . Resonates from past to present." -San Francisco Chronicle

"A brutally powerful, mesmerizing story. . . . Read it and tremble." -People

"Toni Morrison is not just an important contemporary novelist but a major figure in our national literature." -New York Review of Books

"A work of genuine force. . . . Beautifully written." -The Washington Post

"There is something great in Beloved: a play of human voices, consciously exalted, perversely stressed, yet holding true. It gets you." -The New Yorker

"A magnificent heroine . . . a glorious book." -The Baltimore Sun

"Superb. . . . A profound and shattering story that carries the weight of history. . . . Exquisitely told." -Cosmopolitan

"Magical . . . rich, provocative, extremely satisfying." -Milwaukee Journal

"Beautifully written. . . . Powerful. . . . Toni Morrison has become one of America's finest novelists." -The Plain Dealer

"Stunning. . . A lasting achievement." -The Christian Science Monitor

"Written with a force rarely seen in contemporary fiction. . . . One feels deep admiration." -USA Today

"Compelling . . . . Morrison shakes that brilliant kaleidoscope of hers again, and the story of pain, endurance, poetry and power she is born to tell comes right out." -The Village Voice

"A book worth many rereadings." -Glamour

"In her most probing novel, Toni Morrison has demonstrated once again the stunning powers that place her in the first ranks of our living novelists." -St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Heart-wrenching . . . mesmerizing." -The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Shattering emotional power and impact." -New York Daily News

"A rich, mythical novel . . . a triumph." -St. Petersburg Times

"Powerful . . . voluptuous." -New York