Toni Morrison Explained: A Reader's Road Map to the Novels - Softcover

Ron David isn't so audacious as to actually try to explain Toni Morrison. Like a great novel, a complex individual is beyond factual explanation. His "explanation" of Morrison is more an attempt to provide readers with enough information and insight so they can explain Toni Morrison to themselves. For starters, David writes the kind of introduction to an author that he says he would like to read: "creative, provocative, irreverent, passionate, funny, spontaneous, and real." Add "unpretentious" to the list and you get a fair idea of the sort of tone David strives for--and achieves. His stated goals: to get people to read Morrison's books, and once read, to provoke folks to rethink the standard interpretations. David also embraces honesty and humor. He writes, "Toni Morrison is in grave danger of being treated like a sacred cow. I have done my best to protect her from that cruel fate."

But above all, David's book is shaped by his belief in spoken language, that the best way to engage readers in lit crit is to write the way you speak, "you and I, hanging out over coffee, talking like real people." Engaging and readable as his writing is, however, David's prose is more astute and poetic than most coffee clutch conversations. One rarely overhears small talk of "wordmusic" and "Literary Hedonism" while passing Starbucks. There's no harm done, however, by his flair for expression. His folksy, just-us-chatting tone renders his sharp insights and commentary all the more penetrating. The focus of his commentary is on Morrison's books--the beauty of her language, the subtext of her novels. Her biographical story plays second fiddle--a scant one third of the book-wherein he tells the tale of her life in the context of her fascination with her ancestors (both African and American). David doesn't linger over Morrison's life, but he does cover all her published works and provides a good sketch of her most formative moments and experiences.

Though he congratulates himself a tad too often on just how nonpedantic he is, Ron David accomplishes what he sets out to do: educate the world about Toni Morrison and the beautiful literature she has created, encourage novices to read and enjoy her writing, and challenge academia to reread her works and interpret them in new ways. And he does so in a familiar, comfortable, entertaining tone that keeps you reading lit crit, even when it hasn't been assigned and there's no paper due. --Stephanie Gold

Ron David is a former editor of the For Beginners series, as well as the author of Jazz for Beginners and Opera for Beginners.