Imani ♥ ☮'s Reviews > God Help the Child

This is Toni's most recent novel and I have deliberately not looked at reviews of it for fear that (per usual), you lot would ruin it for me. So now, I'm wondering if the lack of fanfare (or at least, that which I perceived) can in part be due to the feeling I'm left with...

I'm not exactly sure how to feel, other than this book is 4 star worthy. I did like this. I liked that it was a departure from what I usually think of from Morrison: historical fiction with very troubling deep themes centered around the African Diasporic experience. God Help The Child is set in the present and is about Bride, a "blue black" girl who, among other things, has become a successful career woman. Her rough relationship with her light skinned mother is the main talking point of the novel, and is further complicated by her relationship with a man named Booker who also has a complicated past. The thing is, I guess none of the story is as complicated as I assumed it would be. I guess I'm used to reading between between the lines for Morrison books. But the themes of colorism, the depth of loss, what it means to love and the journeys one goes on for that love are relatively (re: Beloved) straight forward. I get the feeling from reading this one that Morrison is appealing to a younger audience - or at least a more modern one.

I guess what struck me most about this story is its realism - there were parts that were repeated and in real life, yes older people repeat stories. And yes, in stories people don't forget the past and the hurt inflicted on them even if it was for a "greater good". I also enjoyed the varying perspectives and even that Morrison decided to shift the POV from first to third in a short period of time. It is interesting I think that save for Booker, Bride and Sweetness, none of the other characters are resolved. While also makes sense from a realism point of view. I guess I'm glad that it was realistic and I liked the writing. It's very short so it's worth the read (or in my case, the listen) so I recommend it. But it's definitely not as "dense" as Toni's other, perhaps more classic works. I think this one will have to simmer in itself for a little bit in order to garner more appreciation but for now I'm glad I read it.