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Wow. Just finished this a little while ago and am completely blown away. This is the third of Morrison's novels I've read (the first two being "A Mercy" and "Home"), and while I enjoyed both, this one is head and shoulders above them. The book is about a formerly enslaved woman (Sethe) and her daughter (Denver) who are haunted by the ghost of the unnamed baby Sethe killed when she was captured by a slave patrol eighteen years before the start of the book. To say more would be to spoil it, but suffice to say I felt fully engrossed in the story.

This book is really interesting in that it combines historical fiction, magical realism, and literary fiction in a way that just works. You feel the force of what's going on in the world at the time (the end of slavery after the Civil War, with many scars from the cursed institution still fresh for those who survived) while dealing with spooky hijinks that add a modest layer of fantasy to this otherwise solemn, thought-provoking tale. Morrison really does have the best of each genre here: the sense of time/place that comes with historical fiction, the creativity of magical realism, and the rich character and thematic work of literary fiction.

Morrison reminds me of my favorite author, James Baldwin, in her mastery of her characters as both individuals, with all their human wants/feelings/desires/insecurities, and as social beings, those who are part of and affected by broader social/political/economic conditions in the place they live. Some of the greatest writers can only write about one of those two things well, but Morrison can handle both. Not only that, but also see how the two are connected, and be able to explore those in ways that make for rich, substantive stories.

My only real complaint is that her stream of consciousness prose sometimes makes it hard to keep up with what's happening. For example, sometimes she shifts from past to present or present to past really abruptly and ambiguously. Other times she has two people interacting where it's unclear for a little while who one or both of them is/are. It's not a huge deal since this isn't constant, and I usually found my way regardless, but it does make things a little less engaging when you're trying to figure out what's even happening.

Still, despite that issue, I was engaged all the way through. And what an absorbing ending! Few books I've read in the last few years have captivated me this much. Simply put, it's a masterpiece. Do yourself a favor and check it out.