Reading Toni Morrison - (Pop Lit Book Club) by Rachel Lister (Hardcover)

About the Book

This volume offers students and book club members a handy and insight-filled guide to Morrison's works and their relation to current events and popular culture.
One of the few authors to attain both commercial success and literary acclaim, Toni Morrison, a longstanding member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, is widely read by high school students and general readers. Her books have been adapted into highly extolled films such as Beloved, largely because, even when set in the past, they grapple with issues and emotions relevant to contemporary society.

Designed for students and general readers, Reading Toni Morrison is a handy introduction to Morrison's works and their place in the world. The book begins with a look at Morrison's life and writing. Chapters overview the plots of her novels and discuss their themes, characters, and contexts. The book then examines Morrison's treatment of social issues and the presence of her works in popular culture. Chapters provide sidebars of interesting information along with questions to promote student research and book club discussion.

• Provides questions that can be used to generate book club discussion
• Includes sidebars to highlight interesting information about the author and her work
• Offers a selected, general bibliography of print and electronic resources to facilitate further study
• Film adaptations of the author's works, such as Beloved, are discussed and their impact explored

Book Synopsis

This volume offers students and book club members a handy and insight-filled guide to Morrison's works and their relation to current events and popular culture.

One of the few authors to attain both commercial success and literary acclaim, Toni Morrison, a longstanding member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, is widely read by high school students and general readers. Her books have been adapted into highly extolled films such as Beloved, largely because, even when set in the past, they grapple with issues and emotions relevant to contemporary society.

Designed for students and general readers, Reading Toni Morrison is a handy introduction to Morrison's works and their place in the world. The book begins with a look at Morrison's life and writing. Chapters overview the plots of her novels and discuss their themes, characters, and contexts. The book then examines Morrison's treatment of social issues and the presence of her works in popular culture. Chapters provide sidebars of interesting information along with questions to promote student research and book club discussion.

Review Quotes

"Lister (American fiction, Durham U., UK) provides a guide to Toni Morrison's novels, from The Bluest Eye (1970) to Love (2003), with analysis of her formal and narrative techniques and engagement with contemporary issues and popular culture. She aims to introduce Morrison's work and explore specific issues for new and familiar readers. She begins with an outline of Morrison's life and career, writing methods, and thoughts on the role of the writer, and continues with chapters on her novels in context, and their themes, language, imagery, and characterization. Other chapters address race, class, and gender in her fiction; her representation of pop culture, as well as the film adaptation of Beloved; her relationship with the media; and online resources. In the chapter on what to read next, Lister discusses connections to other works and influential writers." --Reference & Research Book News

"Lister's inclusion of a range of discussion points encourages an awareness of the breadth of Morrison scholarship, facilitating ideas about a wealth of often interrelated issues such as love, gender, and the white gaze. . . . her book also promotes active and thoughtful reading, supported by her intricate analyses." --MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the U.S.

About the Author