Bibliophile [song of solomon]

It's reportedly Michelle Obama's favorite book, so I took it for a spin.

Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison

Blurb:

Milkman Dead was born shortly after a neighborhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight. For the rest of his life he, too, will be trying to fly. With this brilliantly imagined novel, Toni Morrison transfigures the coming-of-age story as audaciously as Saul Bellow or Gabriel García Márquez. As she follows Milkman from his rustbelt city to the place of his family’s origins, Morrison introduces an entire cast of strivers and seeresses, liars and assassins, the inhabitants of a fully realized black world.

I like Toni Morrison, and I've read more than a few of her novels, starting with Beloved. She has a distinct style and feel, which I appreciate in an author; every time I read one of her works, it's like revisiting an old friend, or a story-telling grandma. Same voice, different tale. I didn't like this as much as Beloved, personally, but I tend to like female protagonists (as Morrison often portrays), and this one focuses on a dude. As usual though, she has some powerhouse feminine characters. Her writing is just so sensual- she's been known to break into free-form poetry mid-chapter and just rock your world. I suppose my appreciation of this has more to do with her writing style and artistic license than the story itself, which I found engaging but secondary, but remains a valid reason to pick this one up. Or any of hers, really.