by Toni Morrison

isbn: 0452280621
subject: Fiction and Literature
finished: 2/2/1999

Beloved is a powerful book that paints a vivid, personal picture of the lives of former slaves in Ohio around the time of the Civil War. It's about a terrible choice that a woman makes when confronted by captors after she escapes, and about the consequences of that choice. It's well written; the characters feel very real, and Sethe's past is unveiled slowly and carefully, at just the right pace. The theme of Beloved, I think, is that endless evil comes from the belief that a person doesn't need to be treated like a person. Highly recommended.