Review: "Home" by Toni Morrison

Home is a story that follows Korean War veteran Frank Money as he journeys back to his home town in Georgia to rescue his younger sister who has been medically abused. In other words, its a novel of sunshine and light *sarcasm*.

Morrison specialises in novels which explore the intersections of race, history, violence and family and these are themes that she brings up in "Home". Although it is a novel that will make you doubt the kindness of the human race what is good about Morrison is that in her novels there are always little rays of hope to be found, if you search hard enough for them.

"Home" is not really a plot driven novel. It is more of an introspective look at the lives of both Frank and his sister Cee. The movement of the characters in their journey is slow but the reader really does get a clear and deep sense of who these characters are which is something that I really appreciate in a book that is as character driven as "Home". The basic structure of the book are chapters of 'action' or plot movement broken up by chapters of 'memory' which are usually no longer than two pages. I understand why the novel is structured in this way but I did get frustrated when reading the novel because of it. Sometimes it felt a bit like the structure created a distance between me and the novel, which stopped me from fully immersing myself into the story and the characters. It was like I would get drawn into the story in the 'story' chapters and then distanced in the 'memory' parts. Other than that, I really enjoyed the novel and it really made me appreciate the skill and deftness that Morrison displays in her work. The story is sad and in places horrific, but the language is beautiful and poetic. One example, from the first chapter, "I only remembered the horses. They were so beautiful. So brutal. And they stood like men". I know, you don't have any context for that quote but the poetry and imagery of it is incredibly poignant and stunning.

Have any of you read "Home"? What did you think of it? Also, if you would like a little 'author spotlight' on Morrison to give an overview of some of her other novels that I have read, let me know.

Rating: 4/5

First Published: 2012
Published By: Initially by Alfred A. Knopf. My version (pictured above) by Chatto and Windus

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