Home by Toni Morrison || Book Review

I’ve heard about Toni Morrison before but until this book, I’ve never come across any of her books to have a read.

The library had this book on the display shelf and since I was looking for a quick and easy read to add to my pile of books, I decided to check this one out. Yes, it was a quick read but far from an easy one.

DISCLAIMER: This review could contain possible spoilers based on my opinions. All opinions and views are my own.

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Originally published: 2012

Pages: 208
Format: Paperback

Plot from GoodReads:

Frank Money is an angry, self-loathing veteran of the Korean War who, after traumatic experiences on the front lines, finds himself back in racist America with more than just physical scars. His home may seem alien to him, but he is shocked out of his crippling apathy by the need to rescue his medically abused younger sister and take her back to the small Georgia town they come from and that he’s hated all his life.

As Frank revisits his memories from childhood and the war that have left him questioning his sense of self, he discovers a profound courage he had thought he could never possess again.

Thoughts:

The first thing I’d like to mention is that just because you picked up a novella, don’t always expect it’s going to be an easy read. Especially this one.

The book is filled with violence, pain, brutality and there’s no shortage of suffering spread out over the pages. While I understand the reason behind all this, it felt like there were no moments given in the book for the reader to just have time to clear the air before moving onto the next scene. There was hardly any closure added to the story.

Again, I get where the author was coming from, and coming from a reader who devours psychological thrillers, there had to be some break in the book to help balance out some of the emotions brought out by the characters and the story.

That being said, everything written contributed to how the reader should be feeling in each scene, and the outcome is pretty negative. There are a lot of disturbing scenes – a word of warning to the sensitive readers.

The book read more like a case study than a story being told. Three quarters of the book had a steady pace and the ending seemed rushed.