Synopsis
Examines the life and work of the successful novelist, who became the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
Laura Bullock - Alan Review
This biography is about Toni Morrison and her struggles, internally and externally, as a female, an African-American, a daughter, a wife, a mother, an American, and last but certainly not least, a writer. Her triumphs at college, and as a graduate student, especially in the 1950s and 60s, at a time of extreme racial injustice and inequality, are vividly told. The reader learns of her life as a book editor , at a time where there were few, if any, Blacks in book publishing, and her subsequent unimagined success as a writer. In her own inimical style, Morrison achieved fame writing about the Black experience, making her writing accessible not only to African-Americans, but Whites as well. Morrison's lyrical, mystical, and visionary style captures the imagination of all. Biographer Haskins peppers this interesting and provocative read with references to Black victimization by Whites, and sometimes difficult vocabulary which will require guidance and instruction for readers coming to Morrison's work for the first time. Nevertheless, Morrison's life, and Haskins' interpretation of her work, will make an interesting read for mature high school students who want to know more about the African-American experience and about one of the most gifted authors in the United States. 2002, Twenty-First Century Books, 144 pp.,
Editorials
This biography is about Toni Morrison and her struggles, internally and externally, as a female, an African-American, a daughter, a wife, a mother, an American, and last but certainly not least, a writer. Her triumphs at college, and as a graduate student, especially in the 1950s and 60s, at a time of extreme racial injustice and inequality, are vividly told. The reader learns of her life as a book editor , at a time where there were few, if any, Blacks in book publishing, and her subsequent unimagined success as a writer. In her own inimical style, Morrison achieved fame writing about the Black experience, making her writing accessible not only to African-Americans, but Whites as well. Morrison's lyrical, mystical, and visionary style captures the imagination of all. Biographer Haskins peppers this interesting and provocative read with references to Black victimization by Whites, and sometimes difficult vocabulary which will require guidance and instruction for readers coming to Morrison's work for the first time. Nevertheless, Morrison's life, and Haskins' interpretation of her work, will make an interesting read for mature high school students who want to know more about the African-American experience and about one of the most gifted authors in the United States. 2002, Twenty-First Century Books, 144 pp.,
— Laura Bullock