Home

OKKK

I don't know. I am out of words, speechless at the sheer brilliance of this woman and her way to tell a story, so beautiful and sad. A book with the title 'Home' (Robinson) had mesmerised me before and it does so yet again. Like Glory and Jack's Gilead, here we are in Cee and Frank's Lotus, siblings who are so closely tied to each other as kids but find their lives radically set apart with years on their backs. Frank is returning home for his sister after his experiences of being a soldier who is angry and hates himself. Much like the prodigal son who wouldn't stop crying at the life he has lived and the pain he has caused to others. His sister, Cee, left by her husband and intoxicated by some substance is counting her last breath when Franks appears at her door and takes her home, their home, back in Lotus. In less than 150 pages, Morrison has written the story of these two siblings, their uncaring families and their home in Lotus that is always looking out for their return. The language, Good Heavens, the style of writing is just phenomenal. I firmly believe that there are very few, rarely any writers dead or alive who can write as well as this woman. Each and every sentence is like lines and patterns drawn on a canvas that comes together in such perfect, rhythmic harmony. Really, she inspires me to write, to know that in writing I can discover a world as beautiful as one can be. Her paragraphs tell me that when the world gets difficult, I can create my own by bringing figments of my life together on blank pages. I cannot wait for another December to be mesmerised by another of Toni Morrison's works. She is just SO GOOD. You have to read this. It is short and as beautiful as heartbreaking it could be. Also, what a magical coincidence is this, the book shares its name with one I really love and the cover that I have has a spool of blue thread, title of my first Anne Tyler book that I can’t wait to go back to.

A new novel from Toni Morrison is an event to relish. With a literary career spanning into its fifth decade, she continues to produce work as powerful and unforgettable as any fiction published in this day and age. In her most slender work of fiction to date, Home lacks none of the storytelling ingenuity and character depth that are hallmarks of every one of her works. A veteran of the Korean War, Frank Money returns to the states fortunate enough to have escaped physical wounds. More distressingly, though, he suffers from flashback moments of nightmarish anguish over the atrocities he committed as a soldier. He is also distressed over any thought of returning to his god-forsaken hometown of Lotus, Georgia. When a letter arrives from a resident of his childhood town telling him that his younger sister, Ycidra ("Cee"), has fallen victim to a crime, Frank bolts back to the place he despises in order to save her. The central story of Frank and Cee is compelling and tender, a recounting of life's struggle to survive and find ways to forgive and move on. Morrison packs surprises and shocks, and the ending is tremendously arresting, sad, and beautiful in its power to explore how any transgression can be faced with dignity and how solace can be found in a redeeming act of grace. The main plot is supplemented with side stories, full of their own intrigue. Even in such a short novel like Home, Morrison's range of narrative is extraordinary, how everything feels so authentic and every character, no matter how minor, feels so real. Her novels are never one straightforward story; they are canvases of insight, interwoven tableaus of places and people. Every detail is fascinating, her prose vibrant and fresh, reminding us how incredibly brilliant Toni Morrison is. In its brevity, Home is another testament that with each work Toni Morrison breaks new ground as an artist and re-establishes the measure of what every writer should do: challenge their self and continue to produce work that bristles with emotion, packs a punch, and evokes admiration.

全章が、すこしずつ、前章の予兆を受けて、連なって進行し、最後に霧が晴れるように、全貌が明らかになる。各章が、互いにつながりのある人々の物語として進行する。 第一章の、不可解な、夢か幻覚でも見たのか？というおぼろげな少年の記憶が、最終章まで、なにかの余韻をともなってつながっていき、最後に、夕闇の中の幻想のような光景の正体がわかる。過去に封じ込めた恐ろしい記憶がよみがえり、謎が解ける。 第二次大戦ののちの、朝鮮戦争、東西冷戦の数々・・それらに転属された黒人兵士の処遇。その時代の黒人の生き方、強い迫害と人種差別の現実、黒人どうしの共感と友情、反目と苦悩、貧しさと無教養・・・ごく普通の黒人たちの日常を描いているが、根底には黒人の哀しみがあり、魂の鎮魂歌が漂っているような余韻がある。先に望みの見えない日々。朝鮮戦争で背負った心の傷を癒す場所のなさ、つかみどころのない生への恐怖。 劇のシナリオみたいでもあり・・・ 悲哀に満ちた人生。 ずしりと重い感触の小説です。 この時代の空気を表現しつくしている、巧い。黒人差別のなかで、それぞれの黒人の生き方と心情を文学的に表現して、かつ抒情詩のような余韻があるのは、作家が黒人で1950年代を体験したからだろう・・・構成が巧い。お勧めです。

I still haven't finished to read the book, anyway I found it very deep in the plot and in the portrait of the main charachters, in particular their emotional side and their thoughts! At the same time the book is simple also for no native english speaker, as me!

Le dernier livre de Toni Morrison nous conduit à travers une Amérique des années 60 moins connue que celle qu'il nous été donnée de voir habituellement. Comme toujours chez l'auteur, c'est un portrait douloureux de la vie de la communauté noire aux États-Unis, mais dénuée de haine, qui fait la trame du livre. Le héros après une enfance de misère et une participation à la guerre de Corée qui l'a complètement perturbé, comme beaucoup, retourne sur les lieux de son enfance pour venir au secours de sa sœur maltraitée. La langue est très poétique et si l'on est pas bilingue mais que l'on connait un peu l'anglais cela vaut la peine de faire l'effort de lire le livre en V.O.pour savourer le style, quitte à vérifier dans la traduction française quant l'on n'est pas sûr de ne pas faire de contresens.

Schöne Sprache, ganz gut verständlich. Eine dichte, anschaulich eingefangene Atmosphäre. Die Schilderung der Erlebnisse des Koreakrieg Veteranen gibt einen kleinen Einblick in die Gesellschaft der USA. Ich habe große Lust auf mehr von Toni Morrison bekommen.