Review: Jazz

Jazz by Toni Morrison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I didn't really like this book, but I mostly feel it's because it's out of my depth. The spirit of jazz is interwoven throughout the story, as characters hop in and out, viewpoints are spliced together like harmonies, and the overall feeling of this book is style. Still, I didn't really enjoy it. That's probably because the plot is paper thin. There's a love triangle, somebody dies, and that's about it.

But not to take a simple approach, Morrison floats about through black culture and creates a rich story told through a prism of history. It's certainly creative and bold, but the characters just don't do it for me and the poetry, as lovely as it is, doesn't add to the overall narrative. If you prefer style over story, this is the book for you. Otherwise, skip. Beloved is a more worthy tale.

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