78 pages • 2 hours read
Toni MorrisonBeloved
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1987A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Before You Read
Super Short Summary
Beloved by Toni Morrison follows Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman in 1873 Ohio, who lives with her daughter Denver and the ghost of another daughter she killed to save her from slavery. Sethe’s home is disrupted when Paul D, a man from her past, arrives and drives out the ghost, which later returns embodied as a young woman named Beloved. Sethe and Paul D face their traumatic pasts while trying to build a future together. Themes include trauma, memory, and motherhood. The book addresses violence, sexual assault, and infanticide.
Reviews & Readership
Review Roundup
Toni Morrison's Beloved is lauded for its powerful exploration of slavery, memory, and trauma, delivered through poetic and haunting prose. Critics praise its depth and emotional impact, though some find the nonlinear narrative challenging. Overall, it is celebrated as a profound literary achievement, despite occasional criticisms of its complexity.
Who Should Read Beloved?
A reader who would enjoy Beloved by Toni Morrison is someone who appreciates historical fiction that delves into themes of slavery, identity, and memory. Fans of The Color Purple by Alice Walker and The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead will find similar emotional depth and rich, poetic prose in Morrison's work.