Book Review for Love by Toni Morrison

Literary Analysis Book 3

Haley L. Thomas
Title: Love
Author: Toni Morrison
Publishing Company and Location: Random House/New York, New York
Copyright Date: 2003
Literary Genre: Realism
Setting: This novel is set during the 1990’s on the East American coast country, in a small town named Silk. The place where most of the story takes place in a large house on 1 Monarch Street, which was home to the three Cosey women: Heed, May, and Christine. Each of these women are related to the late Bill Cosey, who owned a very prominent hotel. The hotel is the setting of many of the flashbacks had by different characters in the book, seeing as most of the characters either worked at the hotel, or had an experience with someone who did.

Significance of the Time Period: This time period was significant because it shows readers that no matter how much time has passed, and no matter how much people may try to claim that everything is different than when they were young, nothing ever really changes. Women in the 1990’s were no more sexually promiscuous than women in any decade. However, the women of the nineties were less inclined to hide this behavior.

Plot Type: This story and its plot are both character-driven, and the story is presented to readers in a way that a mystery story would be. Instead of the mystery being “Who did it?” as it is in many mysteries, the question lies in finding out who each person is and why he/she did the things that he/she did. While the plot seems very complex throughout the book, it ends up being quite simple.

Plot Summary: This is a book about love. However, this is not a story of two lovers who have to fight to stay together. This is a book that tells stories of paternal and maternal love, love for one’s self, romantic love, jealous love, hateful love, the love of friendship, finding love, and finding out that the love that was thought to exists never really existed at all.
This novel tells the story of six women who all had different types of love for a man who owned a prominent hotel. Bill Cosey has a different role in each character’s life. He plays the part of a father, boss, lover, friend, enemy, mystery, and husband. However, it quickly becomes obvious that he is much more than that. His character seems to be the center of the entire novel, even though he is already dead during the present time of the novel.
As I turned each page, and moved from chapter to chapter, each person’s mystery began to unfold. I understood and sympathized with each character, no matter how unusual that may seem to someone who has not read this book. I learned why May went insane. I figured out what turned Heed and Christine’s childhood friendship into a relationship that sat on the thin line that separates love and hate. I learned where Junior came from, and who she really is. I found out where Christine went during her famous disappearance, and why she even left in the first place. Slowly, but with interest, I found out who L was, even though I never even learned her real name.
This novel tells the story of a family who is quietly misunderstood. Heed and Christine are the same age, and when Heed marries Christine’s grandfather (Bill Cosey) at the age of 11, they begin to fight for his attention and affection. Since he was in his fifties during the time of this marriage, there was much confusion over his love towards a girl of such a young age. There is a strong tension between the two girls, and this tension begins to involve Christine’s mother, May, who feels the need to defend her daughter. During all of this drama, L’s character plays the part of the peacemaker. And, Morrison includes a woman named Celestial, who was Mr. Cosey’s lover. There is also a woman named Vida, who considered Mr. Cosey a saint because he gave her a job at his hotel that was much better than the one she had at a cannery.
The men in the story are also significant, and we learn quite a bit about what each of them are hiding, as well. First, of course, is Mr. Cosey. At first, he seems like a man who took advantage of his power, and could have anything that he wanted. He married a young girl and never felt the need to explain why he did this. He had a lover on the side. He spent his entire life around women who wanted nothing more than to be his favorite. Mr. Cosey displayed many different forms of love throughout this novel, although none of these forms ever seemed to be enough for the person who was receiving this love. Next, we learn about Vida’s husband, Sandler, who was a good friend of Mr. Cosey’s. Sandler and Vida have a grandson named Romen, who ends up falling for Junior, a girl who is taken in by Heed to assist her in taking care of personal business.
The actual story does not lie in the plot. The plot, in all actuality, is quite simple. However, it’s in the way that the plot unfolds. This is a story about a love that is so complex that even the characters do not immediately notice its existence. There is no mystery in the plot. Instead, the mystery lies in each of the characters. The plot is simple. However, the characters are anything but that.

Point of View: This book is written in third person, and is sometimes narrated by the character L. Readers are able to see the thoughts of each character.

Tone: Morrison uses a tone that encourages readers to find a reason to be sympathetic towards each of the characters. Although it may sound strange, in the end, it is easy to understand the motives of each character. The tone of the novel is mysterious, while also being very revealing.

Diction: The dialogue in this novel perfectly captures the way I thought each character would sound if they were speaking. Some of the characters are less educated than others, and the dialogue reflects this. Even the thoughts of each character captured the essence of who that character really was, and through this, readers are allowed to understand the difference in what these people were thought to be and who they actually were.

Organization: At first, it does not seem as if this novel is organized at all. However, the flashbacks begin to make sense and seem to come at the appropriate time. The title of each chapter also happens to be the main subject of the chapter.

Readability: This is not an easy novel to read. If even one word is missed, the meaning of the entire sentence disappears. In my opinion, anyone under the age of 16 would not have the patience and depth required to fully understand this novel.

Content: This book contains mature and adult content, and for this reason, I would be very careful in who I advised to read it. It contains graphic descriptions of sexual encounters, and the significance of these scenes would be lost on a young reader.

Significance of the Title: There absolutely could not be a more appropriate title for this book. Love is what each character in the book craves the most, and understands the least.

Unique Literary Devices: Morrison uses symbolism throughout this novel. For example, she uses the idea of a silver spoon, a serpent, a trumpet, and a set of unforgettable eyes to present ideas that are not directly written in the text.

Use of Novel in the Classroom: I would only teach this novel in a college level classroom, simply because I think that it would not be appreciated by high school students. There are many layers to this book, and it takes a willing reader to uncover each layer. There is language in this novel that is significant to the story, but would probably offend the parents of a younger child. To be honest, I have seen a teacher get in trouble for teaching this book in my high school, and I can understand why parents were upset, even though personally, I would not be.