Tar Baby (Contemporary Fiction, Plume) (Paperback)

by Toni Morrison (Author) "HE BELIEVED he was safe..." (more)
Key Phrases: original dime, lemon whip, chocolate eater, New York, Isle des Chevaliers, Queen of France (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Deeply perceptive. . . . Return[s] risk and mischief to the contemporary American novel.” —John Irving, The New York Times Book Review

“Toni Morrison has made herself into the D. H. Lawrence of the black psyche, transforming individuals into forces, idiosyncrasy into inevitability.” —New York

“Arresting images, fierce intelligence, poetic language . . . One becomes entranced by Toni Morrison’s story.” —The Washington Post

“Wrenchingly good. A terrific book.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Hypnotic, stunningly alive.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

“That rare commodity, a truly public novel. . . . Morrison’s genius lies in her uncanny ability to immerse you totally in the world she creates.” —Newsweek

“Powerful. . . . A stunning performance. . . . Morrison is one of the most exciting living American writers.” —Kansas City Star

“It takes one to the sheer edge of human relationships.” —Vogue

“Wise, beautiful, astonishing, absolutely breathtaking.” —St. Louis Globe-Democrat

“Reminds us again that Toni Morrison is one of the finest writers in America today.” —Louisville Courier-Journal

“Tar Baby is stupendous. Morrison is a writer of amazing skill.” —Roanoke Times & World

“Its scope is grand and the interplay complex. But Morrison has the control of a skilled choreographer, with a careful eye pinned on pacing, suspense, grace, and frenzy. . . . She has an awesome lyric flair.” —The Charlotte Observer



From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review
“Deeply perceptive. . . . Return[s] risk and mischief to the contemporary American novel.” —John Irving, The New York Times Book Review

“Toni Morrison has made herself into the D. H. Lawrence of the black psyche, transforming individuals into forces, idiosyncrasy into inevitability.” —New York

“Arresting images, fierce intelligence, poetic language . . . One becomes entranced by Toni Morrison’s story.” —The Washington Post

“Wrenchingly good. A terrific book.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Hypnotic, stunningly alive.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

“That rare commodity, a truly public novel. . . . Morrison’s genius lies in her uncanny ability to immerse you totally in the world she creates.” —Newsweek

“Powerful. . . . A stunning performance. . . . Morrison is one of the most exciting living American writers.” —Kansas City Star

“It takes one to the sheer edge of human relationships.” —Vogue

“Wise, beautiful, astonishing, absolutely breathtaking.” —St. Louis Globe-Democrat

“Reminds us again that Toni Morrison is one of the finest writers in America today.” —Louisville Courier-Journal

“Tar Baby is stupendous. Morrison is a writer of amazing skill.” —Roanoke Times & World

“Its scope is grand and the interplay complex. But Morrison has the control of a skilled choreographer, with a careful eye pinned on pacing, suspense, grace, and frenzy. . . . She has an awesome lyric flair.” —The Charlotte Observer



From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 305 pages
• Publisher: Plume (September 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452264790
• ISBN-13: 978-0452264793
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #539,099 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The "trick" to comprehending a "trickster" novel, November 22, 1999

By A Customer

One of the things that's often hard in reading other readers' responses to an author that you absolutely adore (and I am an avid Morrison fan) is preparing for the types of reviews that often try to invalidate her or dismiss her because her writing demands so much from us. Yet, I believe her Nobel prize speaks for itself (even for all those who were "forced" into reading her for a class or seminar -or even because Oprah said so), so when others "trash" her, my disgust is not in their inability to appreciate her but in a recurring trend that continues to prove that our mass-media, TV-dominated culture has produced a generation of readers (and I use the term loosely) who no longer appreciate reading a book for the sheer pleasure of how the written language comes together and how an author like Morrison blends both oral culture and myths with written text.

And, folks, you really need that appreciation if you're going to get into a novel like Tar Baby. I believe some very basic knowledge needs to be in place. A) Some knowledge of the African American folktale of the tar baby and Brer Rabbit B.) Some knowledge of the biblical story of Adam and Eve and how religious doctrine has traditionally interpreted it. C.) Some understanding of the "trickster" (and this novel is filled with this figure) tradition in both American and African lore--who is tricked, who's doing the tricking and what is the overall "trick": colonialism? male-female relations? race relations?

I believe that once we recover much of the traditions that someone like Morrison has been exposed to (from the Bible to the blues to Faulkner to Zora Neale Hurston), her novels can be read with some appreciation and respect. . . and love.

I'm not one of those who believe that Morrison as a black woman author is too "marginal" to be appreciated by a "mainstream" reader, but a "true reader" is someone who can transcend their particular identities and trust a writer to take then onto any journey outside themselves and not even mind if there is a "trick" in store for them, or some profound pleasure...or horrific pain.

Reading is about trusting the author to reveal to us some new vision we did not know existed...But be prepared: Morrison is not the type of writer who will hold your hand!

Here's hoping that Amazon can inspire true love of reading and real thought and vision that comes from extensive readership! Only then, can user reviews be exciting and a pleasure to read!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A satire with real bite, February 8, 2001

By	Michael J. Mazza (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"Tar Baby" may not be the most celebrated of Toni Morrison's many memorable novels, but, in my opinion, it's the most fun. Much of the story takes place at the Caribbean mansion of white millionaire Valerian Street. Morrison weaves a deliciously nasty psychodrama involving Street, his flaky wife, the Street's black servants, and Jadine, a young black woman who is niece to the servants and who has been educated thanks to Valerian's money. Into this mix Morrison tosses Son, a dreadlocked black man with a dangerous edge.

"Tar Baby" is a frequently outrageous satire of racial identity, sexual politics, consumer culture, class consciousness, and family dysfunctionality. Her cast of characters is colorfully warped in an almost Dickensian manner. Particularly interesting is the portrait of Jadine, the black wunderkind beloved by her wealthy white patrons; I think of her as a whorish postmodern parody of early African-American poet Phillis Wheatley.

As always, Morrison's writing is marked by passages of poetic power and grace. Check out, for example, this marvelous description of Son's hair: "Wild, aggressive, vicious hair that needed to be put in jail. Uncivilized, reform-school hair. Mau Mau, Attica, chain gang hair."

Ultimately, I read "Tar Baby" as a comic tragedy of people trapped in a complex web of racial, sexual, and economic mythologies. Profane, thought-provoking, ironic, and rich in scathing humor, this novel is ample proof of Toni Morrison's writerly talent.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hauntingly, Disturbingly Beautiful., August 27, 2001

By	Chicago Dreamer "chicagodreamer" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

"No, a star star. In the sky. Keep your eyes closed, think about what it feels like to be one." He moved over to her and kissed her shoulder. "Imagine yourself in that dark, all alone in the sky at night. Nobody is around you. You are by yourself, just shining there. You know how a star is supposed to twinkle? We say twinkle because that is how it looks, but when a star feels itself, it's not a twinkle, it's more like a throb. Star throbs. Over and over and over. Like this. Stars just throb and throb and throb and sometimes, when they can't throb anymore, when they can't hold it anymore, they fall out of the sky." -Tony Morrison

A man jumps off a boat and finally makes it to shore on an island in the Caribbean -- an island filled with images, past and present, disturbing and haunting, myth and legend. He discovers and falls instantly in love with a spunky sophisticate named Jadine. The story weaves its way through the island, the love story, and winds itself around Jadine's hosts and adopted family -- a rich, old-moneyed, Philadelphia factory owner and his wife and servants. While waiting for Christmas guests and family members, a fragile string is unwound which uncovers a deeply buried secret. After this secret surfaces, nothing is ever the same. Everyone present is caught in the tar baby of that secret, and the ramifications of its discovery affect everyone's lives ever after.

This is much more than a love story, however, the love story is exquisitely passionate, memorable, enlightening and poignant. This author is a masterful storyteller, and she completely captivates with mesmerizingly beautiful prose. Want to know more? Read this beautiful and disturbing book. Highly recommended!