The novel chronicles the injustices that surround Maggie, who is quiet and doesn't fight back. A chilling look at poor, urban life in the late 1800's, it is also a tale critical of society's judgmentality and questioning of morality. A more complex novel than it seems on first look, it is wonderful to take apart and examine the relationship between Maggie and Pete, Maggie and her mother, and Maggie and Jimmie.

When I discovered this book, I was already writing a story cycle of my own, The Acorn Stories. Winesburg, Ohio became a strong influence on that book, and also led me to write New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio. In Sherwood Anderson's acclaimed story cycle, a small town finds itself entering the twentieth century with loneliness and confusion. The same industrialism that Anderson would explore so well in his novel Poor White also asserts itself constantly here, turning a beautiful landscape into a sometimes desecrated one.

The young reporter George Willard appears in most of the stories, providing a connection for people who feel they lack connection and a voice for people who feel they lack a voice. Though many readers consider this book a bleak and disjointed novel, I consider it a collection of stories that interrelate in surprising, often brilliant ways. As for the bleak part, please also look at the many moments of comfort, the many sparks of inspiration.

I eventually lost track of how many times I read Winesburg, Ohio. I just know I'll read it again.

I read Sharon Mitchell's first book Nothing But The Rent and while I enjoyed most of it the ending left me hanging big time. This time around however, was much better. Sheer Necessity was a realistic story about the ups and downs of one womans family and how she in particular copes with it. Toni being a single mom dealing with a deadbeat dad is trying to raise her young daughter while trying to put herself through school and starting her own business. She then has to deal with her family and all of there problems. While she trys not to overstep her bounds she can't help but care about what they are going through and try to help. Sharon Mitchell doesn't try to portray the character as holier than thou but lets her experience real emotions that you could imagine yourself going through with similar actions. I applaud her for this major comeback. If anyone read her previous novel and is gun-shy about reading this second attempt don't be, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Keep up the good work and I look forward to your next works.

Sheer Necessity is about the ups and downs of family life and the challenges that family members face in just plain ole daily living. The story is told from Toni's viewpoint. Toni is the oldest of four children, and as the eldest she feels responsible not only for her six-year daughter, but the going ons of her siblings and parents as well. Sheer Necessity exhibited balanced relationships/situations and showed both sides of the AA family-the bad as well as the good. I especially enjoyed and welcomed a book that tackled the positive side of the AA family and what we're willing to do for the ones we love; Sheer Necessity also showed the love of a husband and wife together over 40 years and the sacrifices they made to keep their family together.

Ms. Mitchell has definitely grown as a writer and I was pleasantly surprised by the improved writing skills/style versus her first book. Sheer Necessity was well-written, (most of)the characters were well developed, the dialogue was crafty and the storyline was realistic and believable. I enjoyed the sub-plots and how they were smoothly interjected and interweaved through the fabric of the main character's story. My only disappointment was that the younger brother was not more developed; I keep wondering why was he included as I did not find him necessary to the story's plot. Overall, Sheer Necessity was a welcomed change of pace/genre, represented a Good Portrayal of A Black Family in the New Millennium and a great second novel attempt by an up & coming new author.

I really enjoyed this novel. I felt that the characters presented in this novel were true to form and could be members of anyone's family. Each daughetr found herself tackling heavy issues and in the long run, overcoming those issues and leading a better life. Although each one of the daughters had their problems with men, and with themselves for that matter, I loved the authors portrayal of the depth of the trust, love, support and respect which existed between the parents and the concentration on the family unit. Ironically though, the same love support, trust and respect which sustained the parents marriage for 30+ years, elluded their daughters. They just don't make things like they used to! My parents will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next year (God willing). The effort and hard work necessary, on both of their parts, to sustain their relationship over the years is something pretty rare. In any event, I thought the book was good and a must read for anyone who has strong roots in family

I love books about young women that overcome devastating obstacles, fight their oppressors, develop self-worth out of harrowing circumstances. So I was encouraged to read Tattoo Girl because it offered this precise mix. Throw in a little horror, a serial killer, wow. But I was disappointed by the writing (sophomoric), the characters (bland), and the plot (less than riveting). If you like this genre and don't mind being bored for some of the novel, give it a try. I hope they make the movie especially gruesome - that would help to lift the book out of its contrived doldrums.

A thriller about a girl, a woman and to a lesser extent a dwarf trying to reconcile themselves with their pasts. The writing is simple, deceptively plain almost, but somehow it has a dream-like quality that makes what's happening in the book feel like it's happening to you-it's extremely believable, though the story is highly imaginative and ultimately powerful. I haven't come across a more captivating novel in many years. I read a review of it that said that it is as much about being sad as it is about being frightened, that's a very good description. Having just started the author's first book, I'm finding it similar in many ways. I believe this writer is a master of suspense, but he's doing more than just making you turn the pages. The novel was passed along to me at my office. I'm glad it was.

I did not want to close the cover of this rivetting novel after I got to the end. I felt a lingering sadness, a longing to be back inside it. From the first few chapters on, I fell in love with the characters, especially Emma, and thereafter, as all the characters moved into increasingly dark territory, I became more and more terrified for them. This is a book that seems to force you to turn the pages and yet it has far more to it than meets the eye. It made me think how most books sacrifice true character development for plot or vice versa. This one had both. Nothing I've ever read before has made me feel so close to characters who end up in such grave danger. No book I've read before has had such visual appeal too. Reading it was a little like being mesmerized by a long, strange fascinating movie and yet it was more than that because I felt like some of this had happened to me at the end. My only regret about the ending was that the story was over and that I'd have to reread it to be in this world again.

"Sula" is the first book written by Toni Morrison that I have read. It will not be the last. This book is set in the mostly Black community, The Bottom, overlooking Medallion, Ohio. It is a study of the relationship between Sula Peace and Nel Wright. With an exceptional use of words that tug and pull at you, force you to listen and think, Miss Morrison brings Sula and Nel to life right before your eyes. In a friendship that spans twenty years, Sula and Nel meet as young children and during that time, "innocently" cause a tragedy that one forgets, the other perhaps does not. As young women, Nel marries and remains in The Bottom while Sula goes off to college, and for a time, moves from city to city. It is Sula's return to The Bottom and one unforgivable event that tears the two friends apart.

It is only long after the death of Sula that Nel comes to the realization that they had not been as different as she had allowed herself to believe, one girl good, one girl bad. They had just been "girls together" and each of them, in her own way, had endured endless struggles to survive in the world as black women.

Sula is shorter and easier to understand than Morrison's two masterpiece longer works, Song of Solomon and Beloved, but that does not mean that it's not a work of great literature. Sula is beautifully written and powerfully rendered. The scenes between Nel and Sula, plus the odd cast of characters like Chicken Little will haunt you long after you finish. Her dialogue is fantastic. Curiously, the last three years when I have taught this book to high school students, the women all loved it and most of the guys didn't. Maybe it's hard for white teen age boys to see the angst of young black girls growing up? Or maybe it's just that as a growing up story of the friendship between two childhood friends, boys that age don't find it that interesting. I agree with the reader below who remarks on the "magic realism" style -- I have always been struck by the way Morrison includes fantanstic elements in her novels: kind of a black folklore meets magic realism confluence. A great read and an important one to her overall corpus.

Toni Morrison, receiver of 1978 National Book Critics Award for fiction, 1988 Pulitzer Prize for fiction and 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature has one of the boldest pens in the world of Women's Literature.

Sula is the first book by Toni Morrison I have read and the others are following it on my bookshelf. I was very impressed with her writing style and her strong characters.

Although "Sula" is said to be the story of Nell and Sula, two friends but as I see, its more of a story of women from two different families. The first family is that of Nell whose mother is a proper housewife trying to escape from the immoral past of her own mother and trying to instill good values in her own daughter. On the other hand, Sula's mother is very uninhibited sexual being and Sula follows a similar course. Both Sula and Nell grow up in different environment with different values, however as the book progresses they are both a completion of one another. One is what the other is missing in her character. Nell settles for a blissful marital life never leaving the place of birth and Sula takes off for ten years only to return and be an experience to remember for her home-towners.

The story is set in Bottom, Ohio around the period of 1920s, so on. While the country was very segregated, it was also going through the depression. Sula is a bold character developed by Toni Morrison who breaks race and gender driven barriers and lives life for herself, her own pleasure, with her own rules and set of values.

Highly Recommended for readers interested in Women in Literature, African-American Literature.

I'm trying to figure out what is the hoopla on Toni Morrison. I've read The Bluest Eye, Sula, Beloved (could not finish), and Song of Solomon (I did enjoy, except for the ending), and can not get into her stories.

Sula is about two childhood friends, Nel and Sula. Sula leaves and comes back 10 yrs later and dances to the beat of a different drummer; like her mother Hannah (the apple does'nt fall far from the tree). Upon Sula's return birds symbolize the irony that takes place and Nel must deal with the question of "Why did you do it Sula, I was good to you."

I did not find anything spectacular about the book other than learning some new words. Ms. Morrison has a vast vocabulary. If you read anything by Ms. Morrison you may want to keep pen and paper, dictionary, thesaurus, and a Toni Morrison reader nearby to at least try and get a grip on her message. Sula was boring and did not keep my interest.

I recommend Song of Solomon, which was a pretty good book and not that difficult to understand. Read Sula at your own risk.

-In her novel "Sula" Toni Morrison paints a vivid and disturbing picture of an Ohio African-American town in the early to mid 1900's that leaves us with countless unforgettable images of human affection and anguish. Sula and Nel, two girls from somewhat different upbringings, form a strong friendship as they grow up in the same troubled community. Their relationship grows out of the life that they share, that of a poor but beautiful black girl in early 20th century America. We share in their childhood experiences and witness them begin their entrance into maturity. Eventually Nel gets married and Sula disappears from the town for ten years. When she finally returns dressed like a movie star, Sula begins to live the life that she witnessed her mother live, one of a constant series of sexual partners, regardless of their marital status. In doing so, Sula nearly earns the contempt of the town's entire female population including Nel who's husband Sula did not exclude from her sexual exploits. Both of them begin to independently struggle to deal with their slowly crumbling lives.
-Morrison's unique and poetic writing style successfully creates a fictional community that overflows with life and emotion. The characters are developed with such care and brutal honesty that they seem to be plucked from real life and as the author's pen directs the actions of these characters she does not shy away from the darker truths of human nature. This unforgiving style often leaves the reader feeling uncomfortable yet emotionally connected to the towns inhabitants. Their behavior can be hard to accept, whether it be a woman killing her own drug-addict son or a child watching her mother burn to death in silent satisfaction. Nevertheless, by participating in their suffering we not only learn about the character's lives but our own lives as well and what we're all truly capable of. The book's tragic end leaves you far from uplifted but is poignant and satisfying nontheless. "Sula" reads like a relentlessly powerful inquiry into the minds of two African-American women in the mid 20th century that contains many life lessons from which we can all learn.

I really enjoyed this book, and was quite surprised to read something so intriguing for a college course. Toni Morrison has such a beautiful way of describing not only common-place occurrences, but horrible tragedies. The novel is honestly disturbing, but some readers may find it terrible amusing...which is perhaps what makes it such a disturbing piece of fiction. Every character in this novel has a unique story, and the reader is also made to feel that even from characters rarely discussed. The town setting, which the narrator admits is little more than a neighborhood, has a story of its own. The tale of "the Bottom" is actually sad more than anything else, but holds a haunting beauty. And the characters all seem to carry a certain innocence. Morrison allows everyone to retain a surprising child-like purity. This is most evident example of this is the "deweys" who despite growing older, remain "forty-eight inches tall", since they remained boys in mind. Sula is arguably the "hardest" or least emotional character throughout the story. However, the reader may gather by then end that she is simply practical, and perhaps the only character who always remains true. Death is a definite theme in this book, and the ways in which characters bite the dust are shocking and fantastical. Once again, however, it seems that Morrison uses death not as an end, but as a renewal or return to innocence. In death Morrison allows her characters enlightenment of sorts, that may also touch others who still live. All and all, Sula is a thought-provoking work with amazing imagery and a story that I think everyone who reads it could relate to.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, is a magnificent piece. It is focused on an 11-year old black girl named Pecola Breedlove, who falls prey to the false notions of white superiority. The white community, her family and Soaphead Church promoted this notion.

There are plenty of ugly things in the world and Pecola is subjected to most of them. She's abused both mentally and physically, and raped and impregnated by her own father. There's no doubt to why she think and feel ugly, she yearns to be the opposite of what she is-yearns to be a white child, she wants the blondest hair and the bluest eyes.

Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eyes was sad yet liberating. She goes in depth about self-hatred, which keeps her novel grasping the reader attention. In the book, she gets across a very powerful idea that is found in every society today. Although the book is written during the 1940's and most of the events that occur mirror that time period, the main idea transcends to this day and age. With a persuasive argument in mind and a poor, innocent black girl to appeal to the reader's pathos, Morrison craftily writes her story. Morrison's argument is how influential society can be on an individual and how strongly it's ideas and views are impressed upon that individual. The ideas and views that she speaks of mostly pertain to beauty and what makes an individual beautiful. This idea of beauty can turn someone's life upside down and in the end lead him or her to madness. Morrison is trying to impress upon her reader's what a negative effect society's ideas and views can have on an individual and how that individual's life is changed forever.

Toni Morrison is also the author of Sula, Paradise, Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, Beloved, and Jazz. She has worked in publishing and has taught at various universities. Morrison is currently the Robert F. Goheen Professor at Princeton. Along with the Nobel Prize she received in 1993, Toni Morrison was also awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 1996.

The book will have no value to you if you can't use your imagination and put yourself in Pecola shoes. You need to be open-minded to grasp the object of the book.

'The bluest eye' was Toni Morrison's debut novel, and it was first published in 1970.

'The bluest eye' is a tragic, heartbreaking story. We meet the 11-year-old black girl Pecola Breedlove, and her world - filled with hatred and racism. Her story is not a happy one - her brothers have run away from home, and her drunkard father has sexually abused her. Pecola believes that if she only had blonde hair and blue eyes, all her other problems will go away'

The characters are all very well developed, and one has to care deeply for them. The symbolism is easy to understand, and Morrison's prose is beautiful, subtle, and unique.

This is a novel that leaves you thinking, wondering about the world we live in.

Toni Morrison has quite rightfully won both the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prize. 'The bluest eye', was the third novel I read by Toni Morrison. Honestly, 'The bluest eye' is not her masterpiece (I think that the book 'Song of Solomon' is her best novel) but it is certainly worth reading!

An enjoyable read!

Brought to life by Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye is an extremely powerful story that tackles some of the difficult challenges people face to this day. I thought the tale was an unforgettable one. Toni Morrison uses just enough detail to let The Bluest Eye stick out in a person's mind for a lifetime. The way the author writes allows a person to understand things very clearly.
The Bluest Eye is the story of Pecola Breedlove, a very unfortunate looking, young black girl living in Ohio in the early 1900's. Pecola's one main wish in life is to have blue eyes, hence the title of the book. She spends her entire childhood praying for these blue eyes so she may look like Shirley Temple and the other blonde haired, blue eyed, white girls in school. Throughout the story, are small tales of Pecola's family past, and explanations of why her life is so horrible. The various tales are written in block form, though, and therefore are very easily distinguishable from one another. As I read this book, I was saddened by the horrific events that this poor girl has to encounter, and shocked by the way people treated African American girls in the past. This story relates to many problems teenagers, adults and children still have now days in our society. Racism, family problems and loving your heritage are highly discussed issues in this book.
I would recommend The Bluest Eye to anyone interested in reading books that tell true life stories. Though I thoroughly enjoyed this book, not everyone will. If you are not the type of person drawn into stories that may make you feel depressed or upset at the way things used to be, then I would not tell you to read this book. To like this book, you have to enjoy reading back to what things were like a couple decades ago, and the hardships people went through in public situations and at home.

Fast Women is an ambitious book with a large cast of characters and a complex plot. I didn't like any of the characters -- including the kidnapped dog. Unlike Crusie's past protagonists, the ones in this book are small hearted and mean spirited. There are so many characters that it is hard to keep them straight and some characters -- like the protagonists' own children -- get lost in the story line.
I hated the plot, which had grizzly little touches like a woman married to the man who killed her mother and a main character who gets even with her ex-husband by describing to him -- in a restaurant with lots of people around -- the lesbian affair she had with another sister-in-law.
I read in another review of Fast Women that if you like Janet Evanovich you'd like this book. Don't believe it. The Stephanie Plum books are laugh-out-loud funny. There's a lot of very weird stuff going on and a lot of violence. But the violence is tempered by a heroine who operates on excellent intuition, is funny as hell, and doesn't have a mean bone in her body.
Save yourself some time and money. For a decent, funny romance, pick up one of Crusie's previous books. If you're looking for a mystery with a complex plot, lots of crazy characters that is sure to make you laugh -- go straight to Janet Evanovich.

A fairly common complaint is that FAST WOMEN is not WELCOME TO TEMPTATION. Personally, I think that's a good thing. True....TEMPTATION is an excellent book. So is WOMEN. They're very dissimilar, thank heavens. Frankly, I get tired of the "cookie cutter" characters when an author finds a format that's selling and refuses to stray from it. Crusie gets edgy and isn't afraid to break away from the pack and FAST WOMEN reflects that break.

Nell Dysart has been dumped by her husband of 22 years and with the help of her two sister-in-laws, is groping for a new life. Due to a few twist and laughable turns she finds herself working for a couple of detectives in their antiquated office that she immediately decides to update,(the office, not the detectives) but not before she has innocently managed to create even more damage. By the time she has made changes in the office she has also dug through the tough shield that the #1 detective, Gabe McKenna has shrouded himself in.

Crusie developed a novel that is pure feel-good entertainment and serves up plenty of opportunities to laugh out loud. As an added bonus the reader gets to try and figure out the mystery that is brewing throughout the book. It's not heavy reading, but who wants that on lazy hot summer days? If I want to dig into WAR AND PEACE again, I'll save that for those long, dreary winter months. Until then, I'll grab every Crusie book as fast as she can turn them out.

"Fast Women" was a total of 417 pages long...I read it in 2 days! It was THAT GOOD! I couldn't bring myself to put it down. Going to bed at night became such a pain; I found that I had to force myself to put it down and get some shut-eye. I loved reading it. Crusie is NOT your ordinary "smut"-writer. She brings the reader into her intricately woven world of mystery, suspense, one-liners, laughter and intense love scenes. Where other romance novels have made attempts at portraying a mix of light witty comedy with romance, and failed, Crusie sails above all others with her colorful fast-talking characters and laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue. While reading this, I literally was brought to tears with laughter, time after time. I was afraid my family was beginning to think I was crazy, sitting there laughing at a "romance-novel". I recommend this to any woman in need of a good laugh...and the love scenes aren't bad either! Just brace yourself if you're a TV junkie -- you'll be neglecting your habit for a while. It's an awesome book! Happy reading!

A mother's act of love, by all conventional measure horrendous, is the source of conflict in Toni Morrison's Beloved. Determined to protect her children, Sethe does the unthinkable--an act which poses serious questions in terms of morality. Her actions create nearly unbearable consequences for not only herself, but her teenage daughter Denver as well. Their home, once filled with love and constant companionship becomes inhabited by the spirit of an angry baby lamenting her premature death. Strangely, the dead baby holds so much control over Sethe and Denver, and succeeds in making them miserable and nervous, even from the other side of the grave. Skillfully, Toni Morrison enters the realm of the super-natural, transporting her reader to a lonely house where strange visions, inexplicable occurrences, and constant terror are commonplace. But somehow, in the midst of these unusual and frightening events, Beloved maintains a power of meaning and sense of reality.

Unusual events are the driving forces behind the novel's success. Beloved's return nineteen years after Sethe held her in her arms as a baby is a major turning point in the novel, as Beloved has power over everything that she wishes. Beloved's control over Denver and Sethe raises so many questions in terms of what she is capable of. Her physical presence alters the dynamics of the family so dramatically that Denver, Beloved's sister, must intervene to avoid certain harm. Beloved's strange presence introduces an entirely new element to the novel, as the reader unravels the mystery of her origin and purpose.

Another level of Morrison's storytelling power relates to a recurring theme. Interspersed throughout the novel are references to Sethe's uncontrollable "rememory." These are the memories that Sethe feels obliged to carry, even though they cause her great pain. For whatever reason, she feels the responsibility to keep them alive. In her dedication to the

preservation of these memories at whatever cost to her, Sethe is immediately established as a loving mother tragically consumed with love for her children. She seems unable to control herself any time that her kin are involved. She wants so desperately to be a family, or at the very least, she hopes to create one. It is only through Beloved's return that Sethe is able to feel relief about the decision that she made so many years ago and finally let go to the most painful parts of her rememory. This powerful creation allows us access to the source Sethe's secret sadness.

Morrison's work is truly masterful. Her characters are complex; existing just beyond that which we know and understand. Exposition is beautifully executed, providing a base for the complicated story of Sethe and Beloved. The narrative is, like the story itself, a model of creativity. The voice changes from an unidentified third person, to Sethe, to Denver, and then to Beloved. The effect of this switch could be achieved in no better way, as Morrison conveys the common goals and concerns of each character. All factors combine to make Beloved the picture of good writing.

Toni Morrsion's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Beloved, ventures through the black experience in America. This novel is based upon a true story of infanticide and slavery. This book is full of gothic elements and acts of terrible violence. Sethe's present and past have caused her to be abandoned by the community. Sethe escaped from the farm "Sweet Home" with her four children, but after only twenty- eight days of freedom she was captured by her old master. Rather than allowing her children to be returned to slavery she attempted to kill all of them, succeeding only in killing the baby girl "Beloved". After her master decided that she was no longer fit to serve, Sethe was released to raise her three remaining children at 124. Beloved's ghost began to haunt the house causing Sethe's to sons to flee after encounters with the ghost. Sethe's busy career as a cook didn't allow her to spend time with her daughter Denver. Denver the only one left in the house is eighteen years old and terribly afraid to even get up enough courage to leave the yard. All of the characters of this novel, are former slaves, children of former slaves, and suffer a troubled relationship to their own past. Morrison does an excellent job in portraying the trials and tribulations of slavery shortly after the Civil War. Toni Morrison's realistic venture through slavery in this book has definitely made it a masterpiece of its time and history as well.

Beloved. A book about slavery? Or a book about life? Morrison brings to life the struggles and pains of slaves through the lives of her characters. She creates a story filled with imagery, clearly depicting their struggles and giving her readers a deeper understanding. Morrison's style of writing forces a reader to read on and solve the mystery of Sethe's past. The book Beloved has a unique style where its details are revealed to the readers one after another. Morrison uses a "jigsaw puzzle" type of writing where details of the story are given to the readers piece by piece. As the story progresses, it is the reader's job to slowly piece the puzzle together, leaving a clear picture of the whole puzzle at the end. This style of "putting the pieces of a puzzle back together" is a great example of how Morrison illustrates the life of a slave. A person's life after entering slavery is filled with struggles and pains, resulting in a life that is literally shattered into pieces. After freedom, this person must then put back the pieces of his life together and find his true self once again. Not only is this true for slaves, but for anyone who has had to overcome an obstacle in his life. In addition to Morrison's style, Morrison's use of imagery clearly shows the struggle that not only Sethe has had to overcome, but slaves and people in general. For example, Sethe's wedding dress. In the novel, Sethe describes her dress by stating, "the top was from two pillow cases...the front of the shirt was a dresser scarf...old sashes...(59)." Here, Sethe's struggles are clearly depicted. The pieces of different materials are good illustrations of her life and how she tries to piece it back together; however, Sethe also states, "Now the back was a problem for the longest time (59)." The back of her wedding dress represents Sethe's past and how when everything is finally over, Sethe is having the hardest time overcoming it. Another struggle depicted in the story is the struggle that Paul D and Sethe must overcome. Morrison writes, "The embracing necks--hers stretching up towards his...No height was beyond her yearning neck, ...the gravity of their shields clashing, countered and mocked...(105)." The shields of the two turtles signify the barrier between Paul D and Sethe. This is how Morrison depicts the yearning and struggle they have to overcome. Equally important are the themes Morrison tries to convey in her novel. Morrison covers various themes, but one theme is the issue of power relationship. For centuries, power relationships are one thing a person will always come across. In Beloved, Morrison focuses on the power relationship between master and slave, white and black, and between husband and wife. One example where Morrison shows the power relationship between master and slave is between the Schoolteacher and Sethe. The Schoolteacher separates himself as superior and slaves as a sub race, as shown when the Schoolteacher tells his nephew to list Sethe's animal qualities (208). However, after the Civil war, the master and slave relationship changes to white and black relationship; still, with the whites having more power over the blacks. Furthermore, by showing Paul D is the only man to get Sethe to let down her guard a little and the only person who could drive out the spirit, Morrison is able to illustrate the power relationship between husband and wife. However, in life, no matter where anyone goes, there will always be someone you must answer to, meaning no one is really ever free, except within his self. All in all, Morrison uses a style of writing, which is able to keep her readers on their toes throughout the novel. She creates a novel so compact with detail that it seems almost overwhelming and unbelievable, but quite relevant. Although, Beloved may seem favorable to blacks, especially former slaves, Morrison covers the issues of struggle, pain, and love. Morrison creates a story everyone can relate to in one way or another; so, not only is Beloved a book about slavery, but it is also a book about life and what everyone must go through.

This book brings to life the fascinating Sheppard case, shedding new light onto the tragic events surrounding the murder of Marilyn Sheppard and the travesty of the criminal justice system in Cleveland, OH. The book provides a systematic and extremely readable examination of the evidence, while capturing the essence of the characters involved and the times in which they lived. Author Cynthia Cooper leaves you in no doubt of the innocence of Dr. Sheppard, the culpability of the Cleveland police, and the identity of the real killer. This is a captivating, well researched and extremely well-written book. This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Mockery Of Justice gives the full story of what really happened 7/4/54 when Dr. Sam Sheppard's pregnant wife Marilyn was bludgeoned to death in their home. Their son, Sam Reese Sheppard co-wrote the book with Cynthia Cooper & they did a terrific job, providing much detailed information and photographs. After reading this you will most likely come away with the realization that Dr. Sheppard really was innocent. The trial transcripts & notes reveal information never before known to the public. A must-have book for fans of true-crime novels.

While this book doesn't prove who really did kill Marilyn Sheppard, it does provide us with enough evidence to believe, beyond a reasonable doubt that, that Dr. Sam Sheppard was truly innocent. Unlike, Fatal Justice, which attempts to "prove" the innocence of Jeffrey MacDonald, Mockery of Justice does provide us with "hard" evidence indicating that someone else was involved--not Sam Sheppard. Whatever your beliefs regarding the case, the book is well-researched, informative and thought-provoking.

The rise of Danny Greene and his battle with the Cleveland mafia makes for an interesting tale. As a relative newcomer to northeastern Ohio, I found the book to be a useful history lesson. However, the writing lacks polish. Porrello could use a good editor, and was ill-served by his publisher who allowed so many spelling and punctuation errors to go to print. It's also hard to keep track of the large number of players mentioned in the book, and sometimes their relation to events at hand is unclear, at best. Still, if you like to read about wise guys, it's a book worth picking up.

I lived in Cleveland during this period.
It was an amazing time.
As an Irish Catholic I had some affinity with Danny Greene, but realized he was basically a gangster no matter what his public persona as a community and labor leader.
Rick Porello does a fine job of telling this amazing tale.
I only hope the plan to make it a movie goes forward, I'll be first in line.

Being a Clevelander I found this book to be wonderful. Being able to identify names and places made this book even more interesting. I definitely like the factual information instead of a "hollywood" reporting style. If you have read other mafia related stories, this one helps tie the names and places together during that era. I would defintely like to see this story portrayed in a movie.