Author: Toni Morrison
Title: God Help the Child
Narrator: Toni Morrison
Publication Info: Random House Audio, 2015
Other Books I’ve Read by the Same Author:
Summary/Review:
When Bride is born with significantly darker skin than her parents, she is raised without love. Her mother even insists on being called “Sweetness” rather than any maternal name. When Bride is still young, she falsely testifies against a teacher in “Satanic Panic” type of child abuse case, just so she can get a moment of affection from Sweetness.
As an adult, Bride has become successful in the beauty industry and plans to bring skin care products to the former teacher when she’s released from prison as a means of atonement. This causes Bride’s current partner Booker Starbern to leave her. The bulk of the book details Bride’s meeting with the teacher and her later search for Booker, both of which lead to a great amount of pain and suffering for Bride. In flashbacks to their past, we learn that Bride and Booker’s experiences with child abuse have arrested their development as adults (in Bride’s case this becomes quite literal in a magical realist way). It’s a powerful story of learning to deal with the trauma of abuse and racism and finding redemption in relationships with others.
Rating: ***1/2
Panorama of the Mountains 