:INFO
The Novel That Required More From Me Than I Expected
I first attempted Beloved in college and stopped at page 30. The second attempt came five years later and ended around page 80. The third attempt came after I had spent a year reading more widely in American history and literature, and something in that preparation made the difference. Toni Morrison does not explain what she is doing. She trusts you to follow her into the grief of it, and the third time I was finally able to follow.


:COUNTER.half
321 Pages
|
:COUNTER.half
3 Attempts to Finish

:QUOTE [quotetype:plain, subtitle:Toni Morrison]
124 was spiteful. Full of a baby's venom.


:JOURNEY
Reading Beloved
3 Dense and nonlinear
5 Weight arrives
5 Powerful choice
5 Stays with you

:NOTE
Reading American history before this novel is not required but it is a gift to yourself. The book is more accessible when you already know something of the world it enters.


:POLL
How many attempts did it take you to finish Beloved?
I finished it on my first attempt
Two attempts before I got through it
Three or more attempts before finishing
I have still not finished it