Toni Morrison

Song of Solomon

Macon Dead, Jr., called "Milkman," the son of the wealthiest African American in town, moves from childhood into early manhood, searching, among the disparate, mysterious members of his family, for his life and reality. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. Reader's Guide available. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.

sundus

All our lives were like that: he would parade us like virgins through Babylon, then humiliate us like whores in Babylon. Now he has knocked the ice out of Corinthians' hand again. And you are to blame. 

When am I happy and when am I sad and what is the difference?

I am not a strange woman. I am a small one. 

Lukas

She was the third beer. Not the first one, which the throat receives with almost tearful gratitude; nor the second, that confirms and extends the pleasure of the first. But the third, the one you drink because it's there, because it can't hurt, and because what difference does it make?

It was becoming a habit-this concentration on things behind him. Almost as though there were no future to be had. 

clara

"What difference does it make if the thing you scared of is real or not?"

"I just quit listening. You listen! You got a Live it! Live the motherfuckin life! Live it!"

So I told the man did he want me to hold on to him so he couldn't fall. He looked at me with the most grateful look in the world. ‘Would you?' he said. I walked around back of him and locked my fingers in front of his chest and held on to him.

‘Song of Solomon...profoundly changed my life’ Marlon James Macon ‘Milkman’ Dead was born shortly after a neighbourhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight. For the rest of his life he, too, will be trying to fly. In 1930s America Macon learns about the tyranny of white society from his friend Guitar, though he is more concerned with escaping the familial tyranny of his own father. So while Guitar joins a terrorist group Macon goes home to the South, lured by tales of buried family treasure. But his odyssey back home and a deadly confrontation with Guitar leads to the discovery of something infinitely more valuable than gold: his past and the origins of his true self. ‘The story of Milkman Dead and Guitar had me in thrall’ Salman Rushdie, New York Times BY THE NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF BELOVED Winner of the PEN/Saul Bellow award for achievement in American fiction

Nica Rhiana

i haven’t finished this just yet but i always find finishing toni morrison’s books so emotional!!!! i don’t want this journey to end - and boy has it been a  journey. i actually didn’t enjoy a good third of this (middle section) and was really missing her lyrical genius in some sections. but im really glad i pushed through despite it all and as soon as he leaves michigan i felt a huge sense of space and relief and maybe that was intentional to reflect his suffocating existence prior but there was something stuffy about the previous passages. many thoughts here not the space to explain anyway….

lara anand

first read of 2025!  i just know this review won't do how i really feel justice but reading song of solomon was an experience i never want to forget. the masterful way morrison wove stories within stories is a testament to how incredible of a writer she is. i am so so taken with this read.

song of solomon is often considered a coming-of-age novel, but i feel it goes far beyond the traditional boundaries of the genre. macon “milkman” dead embarks on a transformative journey of self-discovery that shifts the course of the novel in profound ways.

the atmosphere and imagery felt almost suffocating—in the best way. morrison’s words carry serious weight, and this burden is one i gladly welcomed. with each chapter, each paragraph, i learned something new and was changed. the prose, the parallels, the allegories, the symbolism—nothing short of brilliant. i had so much fun annotating and dissecting this book.

i thoroughly enjoyed this read, and i’m so glad i started my year with it. 

first read of 2025!  i just know this review won't do how i really feel justice but reading song of solomon was an experience i never want to forget. the masterful way morrison wove stories within stories is a testament to how incredible of a writer she is. i am so so taken with this read.

song of solomon is often considered a coming-of-age novel, but i feel it goes far beyond the traditional boundaries of the genre. macon “milkman” dead embarks on a transformative journey of self-discovery that shifts the course of the novel in profound ways.

the atmosphere and imagery felt almost suffocating—in the best way. morrison’s words carry serious weight, and this burden is one i gladly welcomed. with each chapter, each paragraph, i learned something new and was changed. the prose, the parallels, the allegories, the symbolism—nothing short of brilliant. i had so much fun annotating and dissecting this book.

i thoroughly enjoyed this read, and i’m so glad i started my year with it. 

Michelle Guo

Maureen

“Now he knew why he loved her so. Without ever leaving the ground, she could fly. ‘There must be another one like you,’ he whispered to her. ‘There's got to be at least one more woman like you.’”

***

Speechless. What a book. Definitely adding this to my absolutely god-tier list. I crammed reading this book for a major, but I did my best to bide my time because the world-building was amazing. Every character is fleshed out so well, and there are a lot of twists and turns. Some pages left me gasping in shock. 

I previously heard this was Morrison’s rendition of A Hundred Years of Solitude, and after reading the novel, I can definitely spot some parallels. 

Nevertheless, we would be doing an injustice to Morrison if we simply labelled the book’s selling point as comparable to Marquez’s work, as this novel deserves to be acknowledged and loved for its own grandeur and unparalleled wit. 

Overall, it’s one of those books that leave you in awe; knowing full well your life will never be the same again after having read it.

Jim Hagan

marj

Read this one in my English 101 class. Watching milkman grow and watch his life unravel around him while also seeing what it's like to grow up as a black man and the divisions within the black community. It's a very good read and plenty of surprises.

bella <3

toni morrison u are a genius this was amazing

Trish

I had to read this in 11th grade English and vaguely remember liking it (and loving the project our teacher assigned during this unit) but I don't remember much else. I'm really eager to pick up another Toni Morrison book though.

Kyle S

This is a different kind of book for me, one that's not written in a style that I'm used to reading but I'm happy that I picked it up. Song of Solomon isn't you're usual book with any overarching plot, it's more of a collection of short stories about Macon "Milkman" Dead III's life. It's wonderfully written but if you're not used to Morrison's style it could take a while to get into.

Mary Rose Luksha

This is one of those books that not only is brilliantly written, but has a brilliant message. I've learned a lot from this book, and I know that as I relect on and remember it more, and probably re-read it, I will learn new things. That is the beauty of this book.

Caroline Mao

GOOD SHIT, been planning to read morrison for a while and definitely plan to continue after this.

i love pilate especially. and lena's angry spiel, definitely one of my favourite rants in literature. and wowow the family dynamics, milkman's character development, the way everything unravelled, and the ending. it was all incredible.

Brittney Wilson

Barry Hess

What can I say? Just a spectacular book. Full of the imagery, depth of character, and themes that you might expect from this Nobel Prize winner. The story is complicated yet down-home and it just barrels on until the end. Beautifully written.

Emily

This book felt unnecessarily weighty but it was still a wild trip

Alesha ponomarenko

Anahita Ahluwalia 

Song of Solomon is the definition of a multicultural text, with elements of Native American culture being intertwined with African-American culture. The novel takes off, and finally comes back to earth, with an exhilarating leap of danger. The idea of “flight”—as an escape, or challenge—runs through the story of Milkman.

It challenges the question of African-American identity and relationships among and between black and white individuals and communities. The main conflict of the novel is Milkman's search for independence, desire to gain self-realization, and answer the questions of who he is, how he lives, and why.

The story loops and swoops, expressing a complex literary surface. However, Morrison does so through musical and often poetic language that’s infused with the rhythms of African American speech and song. Vastly different from traditional models of writing, Morrison conjures her tale from many voices and stories. The overall effect is a kaleidoscope, evocative of memory and history, and actualised through the compelling figure of Macon Dead.

Kelsey Holtaway

Thoughtful and, like other Morrison novels, incredibly raw and not shy of the taboo. This definitely made me want a book all about Guitar, though.

zilver 

3-3.5

I'm partly intrigued but mostly confused?

Christine Liu

Toni Morrison has a way of immediately setting a captivating scene and infusing distinct identities into a diverse cast of characters. I was invested in this town and the people who inhabit it within the first few pages. This is one of Morrison's best.

Song of Solomon

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