08 May 2012

Home ~ Toni Morrison


** LIKE **

Finalist : National Book Critics Circle Award 2008

More of a novella than novel
Short but packed with emotion

I liked it but wasn't blown away by it.  It was finely written.  It is detailed and descriptive. It was emotive.  But it was maybe a little too lean and sparse to be lyrical or poetic.  It wasn't overly complex, making it an easy read, but I also didn't feel that connected with the characters. The way the story switched narrators (almost The Done Thing in current writing!) was well done.

I am trying hard not to compare it to Mudbound by Hillary Jordan but there is a similarity in themes (black poverty in the South, injustice for returned black soldiers) and brevity and I found that Mudbound resonated far more deeply.