Group Read: “Love” by Toni Morrison

Charlas75 Books Challenge for 2021

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Group Read: “Love” by Toni Morrison

1lauralkeet
Editado: Feb 27, 2021, 9:41 am



Join fellow LTers in reading Toni Morrison’s novels in order of publication. In March we’ll be reading Morrison’s eighth novel, Love, published in 2003.

A few guidelines for posting on this thread:
* Use spoiler tags as appropriate in your comments.
* Identify the chapter your comments refer to so others know whether it's safe to click on the spoiler link.

Here’s a list of Toni Morrison’s novels, in publication order:

The Bluest Eye, 1970
Sula, 1973
Song of Solomon, 1977
Tar Baby, 1981
Beloved, 1987
Jazz, 1992
Paradise, 1997
Love, 2003
A Mercy, 2008
Home, 2012
God Help the Child, 2015

2dudes22
Feb 27, 2021, 10:07 am

Hi Laura - I picked up my book from the library yesterday so I'll probably start it this week end or early next week. I have one other book going that I'd like to make a good dent in first.

3japaul22
Feb 27, 2021, 10:25 am

Excited to read this with a group. I will likely start towards the end of this coming week.

This is my first time joining in with the Morrison reads, but I have read The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon, Beloved, Paradise, and A Mercy.

Thanks for setting this up, Laura!

4katiekrug
Feb 27, 2021, 10:49 am

I'm in! I will probably start next week sometime.

5lauralkeet
Feb 27, 2021, 11:18 am

Welcome Betty, Jennifer, and Katie!
I plan to start reading sometime next week as well. I probably won't finish my current book but, like Betty, I want to make a nice dent in it before I set it aside.

6BLBera
Feb 27, 2021, 12:45 pm

I'll start at the end of next week as well.

7AnneDC
Feb 27, 2021, 1:00 pm

I've read Love before, and not that long ago, but I'm eager to read it with company. I'll likely start next weekend. As I recall it's not a long one.

8lauralkeet
Feb 27, 2021, 3:59 pm

Welcome Beth and Anne! We have quite a nice group forming here. Hurray!

>7 AnneDC: Anne, my edition, pictured in >1 lauralkeet:, is 224 pages.

9EBT1002
Feb 28, 2021, 11:49 pm

Starring the thread!

10lauralkeet
Mar 1, 2021, 7:28 am

>9 EBT1002: Excellent! Glad to have you on board, Ellen.

11BillyDodd
Mar 1, 2021, 7:37 am

Este usuario ha sido eliminado por spam.

12katiekrug
Mar 4, 2021, 2:53 pm

I have about 80 pages left, and I am enjoying the read. I will say I once again had issues at the start with a lot of characters and unclear connections between them, but I should know to trust Ms. Morrison by now. It's all becoming clearer and more intriguing. Look forward to chatting with y'all about it :)

13lauralkeet
Mar 4, 2021, 3:04 pm

>12 katiekrug: that's just the prod I need to get moving. I've been reading a loooong book thinking I'll start the Morrison once someone else does. So I think I'll read to the end of the next chapter and then pick up Love (realistically, probably tomorrow).

I did sneak a peek at a couple of reviews just to get some context. I think that might carry me through the initial confusion, which as you said Katie is so common in Morrison's novels.

14japaul22
Mar 4, 2021, 3:17 pm

>13 lauralkeet: I also needed a little prod. I’m reading two books right now, but I’ll finish one of them for sure by Saturday and then start in on Love.

15dudes22
Mar 4, 2021, 6:56 pm

I've barely started the the first chapter wondering if I should get a move on, so I guess I will.

>13 lauralkeet: - Based on how confused I got with Paradise, I was thinking of doing the same thing.

16katiekrug
Mar 6, 2021, 10:08 am

I finished it up yesterday. I posted a review on my thread, and on the book page. The start was a bit rough for me, but my patience was rewarded. She does a lot in very few pages!

17dudes22
Mar 6, 2021, 11:26 am

>16 katiekrug: - that’s good to know. I’m just starting and I find I’m going back to the beginning a few times already. Maybe I should just press on.

18lauralkeet
Editado: Mar 6, 2021, 11:57 am

Katie, I like the way you described Morrison's writing in your review:
But what she is so good at is writing a novel where these pieces are slowly teased out, threads of a story meet up with others, characters develop, connections are illuminated, and the reader finally begins to see and understand the complex web she is weaving as a whole.
I've read about 45 pages and am enjoying the slow reveal. I'm so glad I decided to re-read the novels I'd read before because once again, none of this is coming back to me!

According to my LT records (which do not lie ha ha), I added an edition of Love in early 2007. I listed Amazon as the source, and I vaguely recall using Amazon purchase history to build my library in LT. I tagged it "read in 2005," which is probably accurate because at the time I would have had some idea of how recently I'd read the book. It is a bit disconcerting to have retained almost nothing about the novel itself -- or, for that matter, any of the Morrison re-reads I've done so far except for Beloved.

19BLBera
Mar 6, 2021, 5:35 pm

This is my first time. I've been busy with other stuff today but hope to get some more reading in this evening.

20japaul22
Mar 7, 2021, 8:25 am

I started yesterday and I'm up to Chapter 3. I agree that there are a lot of characters and relationships to keep track of at the beginning. I think I'm getting it . . .

>18 lauralkeet: I have horrible "book memory", Laura. I just read Paradise less than 2 years ago and I really only remembered plot points when you all wrote about specific events in your reviews. I have found, though, that I generally remember something about a book - a strong setting, a theme, a character, a plot device, etc. But I rarely remember "what happens". And that's ok with me - I think every book adds something to my lexicon that wasn't there before, even if I can't always regurgitate exactly what that is!

21BLBera
Mar 8, 2021, 3:18 pm

I just finished Love. I think it suffers in comparison with Paradise, but I want to think about it a bit before I comment. Then, I want to see what others said.

22lauralkeet
Mar 8, 2021, 3:49 pm

Beth, I can understand needing some think time before commenting. I'm nearing the end of Chapter 5, so I still have about 80-85 pages to go.

23japaul22
Mar 8, 2021, 4:19 pm

>22 lauralkeet: That's exactly where I am, Laura. I have time tomorrow, so I expect I'll finish it by Wednesday. Half way through, and I'm still trying to make sure I really understand the relationships.

Heed - Bill Cosey's second wife
May - Bill Cosey's daughter-in-law
Christine - Bill Cosey's granddaughter??? (May's daughter? - this one I'm confused about)
L - the chef at the hotel and the narrator of the italicized sections

24BLBera
Mar 8, 2021, 4:20 pm

>23 japaul22: It will all be clear as you read, Jennifer.

25japaul22
Mar 8, 2021, 4:31 pm

>24 BLBera: OK. thanks for the reassurance!

26lauralkeet
Mar 8, 2021, 6:04 pm

>23 japaul22: I am trying to piece this together too, Jennifer.
>24 BLBera: and I'm glad to see this!

Also, in Katie's review she commented about kind of going with the flow and letting Morrison reveal the connections in her own time (I'm paraphrasing but I think that was the gist of it).

So, I'll keep reading.

27dudes22
Mar 8, 2021, 6:07 pm

I'm a little bit behind you two and going slowly so as not to miss connections.

28lauralkeet
Mar 9, 2021, 6:29 pm

I finished the book this afternoon. Percolating.

29japaul22
Mar 9, 2021, 7:21 pm

I also finished tonight.

30BLBera
Mar 9, 2021, 9:02 pm

Laura and Jennifer: I can't wait to see what you think after the percolating is done.

31lauralkeet
Mar 11, 2021, 8:41 am

I had a very difficult time reviewing this book. My review is posted on the book page and in my 75 thread, but it's spoiler-free so I'll post here, too:
Love is the story of several women whose lives were tied to Bill Cosey, owner of a seaside resort hotel catering to Black clientele. Cosey is dead and the hotel is no longer a going concern. His widow, Heed, daughter-in-law May, and granddaughter Christine now live in the hotel and wage constant battles for power over one another. Heed has also hired a young woman named Junior as her secretary to help write a book about her life, a project the other two women simultaneously scorn and fear. A woman named “L,” part of the resort in the old days, appears occasionally to provide insight on the lives of the characters.

Love unfolds in a non-linear and often disjointed fashion in Morrison’s trademark style. Reading her work is like doing a jigsaw puzzle, starting with a jumble of disconnected pieces and gradually finding the connections and binding it all together around the edge. That’s what makes her books so interesting, so I won’t reveal any of those connections in this review. Her language is exquisite, and the “reveals” expertly done. I love when a book elicits an “aha” response, and this one did that.

And yet, I struggled to identify the central theme of the work and the meaning of the title. There were many forms of love in evidence, some healthier than others. The bonds between the women were powerful in their unique way. Morrison also wove in commentary on civil rights issues. But after thinking about it for a few days, I just can’t quite tie it all together.

32BLBera
Mar 11, 2021, 10:44 am

Great comments, Laura. I think, in a way, that the title is a misdirect. The "love" is between the women, more than in their relationships with Cosey. And maybe part of it is showing the different ways in which love manifests?

This is not up to Paradise standards.

33katiekrug
Mar 11, 2021, 10:51 am

I agree with Beth about the title.

34japaul22
Editado: Mar 11, 2021, 12:49 pm

>32 BLBera: I think that's the best take on the title.

sort of spoilers below through the end of the book

However, I also think that the title makes you question whether any of these relationships are truly loving. Cosey's "love" for Heed is abuse, whatever way it is spun. May's love for Christine is protective, but also damaging as it feels to Christine like rejection. Christine and Heed's love for each other is stolen by adults' misbehavior and childish miscommunication that they hang on to far past the point that they should. Junior and Romen are physically in love, but not emotionally. So none of the main characters in this book get love right in my opinion.

I do think L shows love for the girls through her actions and reminisces. And Vida and Sandler seem to love each other and Romen. If the book were longer, those relationships might have stood out more in contrast.

35lauralkeet
Mar 11, 2021, 2:49 pm

Excellent points, both about the title and Jennifer's comments in >34 japaul22:. I definitely questioned the "love" demonstrated by the various characters. Morrison certainly doesn't sugar-coat or romanticize things!

36BLBera
Mar 11, 2021, 3:03 pm

Yes, good points, Jennifer. I think the chapter titles also tie into the idea that there are many kinds of what we call love: "Portrait," "Friend," "Stranger," etc. Some of these seem pretty shallow, so we probably wouldn't consider them "love" at all.

37dudes22
Mar 11, 2021, 6:49 pm

>31 lauralkeet: - I'm only half-way through, so if May is really alive - that's news to me. Or I've already missed something.

>34 japaul22: - I skipped your comments, Jennifer but I'll come back and look later.

Even though I'm not done quite yet, I think Beth has a point. Maybe the chapter titles are the reference to the title. I'm going to pay more attention to how the titles and the chapters relate as I continue.

I had hoped to finish today, but my sister needed my help. Hopefully tomorrow.

38dudes22
Mar 14, 2021, 4:42 pm

I finally finished the book yesterday and although I don't have a lot to add, I pass along a couple of thoughts.

I did find this a lot easier to follow than Paradise (which I will read again sometime). The connections between the women became apparent fairly early in the book. I don't usually pay a lot of attention to the titles of chapters, but Beth's comment had me wondering so I paid a bit more attention. The next chapter I read after that was "Guardian", the one where Sandler takes Roman with him to have a "talk". You could see the love he had for his grandson and how he wanted to keep him safe. I think I then found the book better as I read each chapter. It probably should have been apparent earlier to me and I skimmed back to see what each chapter was about to see how it might relate.

I think the best thing is just the way Morrison writes. It just pulls you into the story.

39lauralkeet
Abr 18, 2021, 6:00 pm

Hello everyone! I've really enjoyed reading Paradise and Love with fellow LTers. After those two, the next book Morrison wrote was A Mercy.

Is anyone up for reading this with me in May?

40katiekrug
Abr 19, 2021, 10:10 am

I read A Mercy fairly recently, Laura, so I'm not sure I want to re-read it yet. That said, I've enjoyed these small group reads, so I would definitely follow along and try to contribute (though my memory for details is garbage), and maybe it would inspire me to pick it up again!

41japaul22
Abr 19, 2021, 10:48 am

I've also read A Mercy and I probably won't do a reread. I don't think I ever read Home or God Bless the Child, so I would join in for those when you get to them.