My response to Morrison’s most recent novel, God Help the Child, will be as brief as the 178 pages that comprise it; I am aiming for 178 words. & so it is:

Undoubtedly, brevity is (one of) Morrison’s genius.  From exploring the Middle Passage to the supernatural, racism, feminism, & Christianity to nature, memory, & touch, Morrison’s fiction is as thorough as Homer’s epics & as beautifully succinct as Bashō’s haikus.  However, while her pithiness works for The Bluest Eye, Sula, Jazz, Love, A Mercy, & Home, it doesn’t work as well for God Help the Child.  In other words, It needs more.  It needs more character description & more complex suspicion.

Don’t get me wrong.  God Help the Child is definitely a page turner.  But, a couple characters are irrelevant, while others are underdeveloped.  Additionally, Bride, the main character, is absolutely transparent.  Her name, appearance, & trials are emphatically obvious.  Yet, Morrison’s genius prohibits one from stopping short of finishing her text.  Readers have to know what happens to Bride.

Would I recommend it to others? Absolutely.