Customer Reviews

Meridian

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Alice Walker's book Meridian is a passionate, touching book, in a variety of ways. First of all, it depicts the warped minds and hearts of blacks (and non-racist whites) living in the South in the 1960s. Meridian is a young black woman- who is slightly crazy, yet completely involving and entertaining. Meridian is very different from other people- she feels things more acutely, sensitively, and strongly than other people. Her emotions- anger, hate, pain, suffering, are all depicted with startling clarity. Ths book is in some ways like a poem- and is very different from any other book I've ever read- almost as if the story is a series of dream sequences. Meridian, who is a civil rights worker, is deeply afraid that her people, and race, will dehumanize themselves and lose their souls. I disagree with a reviewer who gave it one star, and critized it for having no ''rising action''. The book has rising action, conflict, and literary techniques, they are just related in a different way- this book does not havea standard chapter form- instead it is a book based entirely on emotions, told in three parts, by Meridian, her black on-and-off boyfriend Truman Held, and her white Northern best friend Lynne. The books clearly conveys that all three of these people have parts of themselves missing- bits of humanity that have been desensitized in the civil rights struggle- and the hate passed from whites to blacks. All of these people are shown as simple young adults- none of them entirely evil, or entirely good, simply trying to survive in this tumultous era. The ending is bittersweet, not entirely happy, but not hopeless either. This book is more about a journey of human beings- than anythng else. It focuses more on characterization than plot- the events seem to be less important than the feelings, thoughts and passions of Meridian, Lynne, and Truman. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about the worries, cares, and journey of the soul.

Much as I've enjoyed Walker's more well-known novels, I'm afraid that this one failed to move me. The main problem was that I always felt at least one level of remove from the characters. The reader is informed that such-and-such behaves in a certain way in order to elicit a particular reaction, or because of some or other damaging past experience, but we are never allowed to feel any of the characters' emotions or see them as real people. At one point in the novel, we are informed that Truman thinks that Meridian's problem is her habit of over-analysis (not, frustratingly, through dialogue, but through narration), and Walker could certainly have taken that advice to heart. The book read at times like a lyrical essay.

Having finished the book, I know little about the character Meridian other than that Alice Walker worships her and that she suffered through many terrible experiences. The two main female characters seem to have so many horrific problems thrown their way that they become martyrs. Far from empowering these women, Walker has defined them only by their suffering and their mysterious paralytic illnesses; I may as well have been reading a Victorian melodrama.

Toward the end, a few passages shone with the kind of honesty and beauty that I had expected from this book, and I was at last allowed glimpses of the characters' inner lives rather than being told what their motivations were - but at that point it was more frustrating than inspiring, because it teased me with what might have been.

Alice Walker writes about the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's through the eyes of Meridian Hill. Walker forces us -- poetically -- to consider our stance on questions of racism, sexism, love and faith. By doing so she causes us to look at how we align ourselves with friends, lovers and family, and what it means to be part of a "community." I read this book the first time 20 years ago and it's themes have stayed fresh for me. A hope-inspiring book, despite the painful issues it addresses. An original novel in all respects.

I love the clarity and directiveness in which Alice Walker writes. You feel the pain of each one of her characters and you feel as though you know them. Wonderful portrayal of an interracial relationship. Real yet still loving. The setting was superb.

This book is an enjoyable read if you have nothing better to do. I failed to be captivated by it. The characters lack the heartwrenching dramatic intensity that you find in her other works. Maybe it is because Alice Walker is such a phenominal author that people just expect so much from her. Still, this book is NOT making the cut for my personal library.

Walker gives a personal, human side to the Civil Rights activism of the 1960's. Her tales are ones only a participant of the period could relate, and she speaks to a wider audience than just women or African Americans. It delves beyond black and white tv footage of Dr. King and SNCC leaders and let's the readers see inside the minds of those "living" in that period.

I recently read Meridian for an AP American History term paper. The plot is difficult, at times, to follow. It goes back in forth from different times during Meridian Hill's, the main character, life. I also had a hard time figuring out who was who when I started reading the novel. After researching about the author, Alice Walker, for my school assignment, the book is a lot more interesting. It wasn't until I gained that knowledge, however, that I was able to comprehend and appreciate the novel. I recommend learning about the book before reading it.

the book doesn't move in chronological order, so it's easy to get confused. i couldn't put this book down, i read it in three days. it depicts the struggle of not only black people during the civil rights movement, but the gender struggle of women. this book touches on issues such as spirituality, forgiveness, and truth. through meridian's eyes, we experience some of the hardships she faced.

I have procrastinated about reviewing this book, largely because I feel as though I did not really understand it. There are some books that you just know from the get go have to be read more than once before you start to get the picture. I think that Meridian is one of those books. So take this as a series of preliminary notes to a review, if you will.

In a way, it was a pleasant surprise. I sometimes have the feeling from Walker's prose that she is a little too literal-- more message than character driven. Meridian is precisely the opposite. Extremely strong characters, with a plot that feels more like an impression of a time than a clear story. Although and then again, there is a story. Something about the madness of a bereaved mother. Something about civil rights work in the 1960s South. Something about friendships between black and white and how that translates into romantic relationships. Part of why I would probably need a second read has to do with how far this is past my personal experience.

Reading the reviews online, it seems that this book is inflicted on unwilling teenagers across the US. Too bad, since I think it is one of the most difficult of Walker's books to read. Something like The Color Purple is much more accessible.

It may be that this book is too disjointed, relies too much on the shared experience of the potential readers. It may also be that I simply need to read it again, and then it will become more clear. There is a lot of good stuff here, and I'd still call it worth the time to read despite feeling that I missed much (most?) of the book.

"Meridian" is set in post civil rights black America but reaches back deeply at least two generations, and sometimes as far back as 1800's slavery. Ms. Walker's language is incandescent, her story incendiary, her characters thoughtful and deeply provoking. Like when I read James Baldwin for the first time, I was moved to racial rage many times, and I learned so much about how it was (is) for people of colour, and for those who loved them. I especially loved the writing, clear and sparkling, and the treatises on women and child bearing and relationships and race were point blank and heart breaking, displaying a kind of progressiveness far beyond most women I know.

Despite all this amazingness, I found the book to be disjoint and unsatisfying. I don't mind non-chronological narratives, nor shifting perspectives, but the way it was done here felt incomplete to me. It was like character sketches or vignettes mashed together, not like a novel. By the end, I had a sense of the strange ill beautiful principled hero, Meridian, but not in a way that built tension or developed plot or underscored historicity. "Meridian" is yet a quick read, but "The Colour Purple" is a cut (or more) above.