Jazz: A Novel (Vintage International)

You won’t need an audio book to hear the jazz rhythms and spontaneous riffs that make this novel linger, like the taste of slow gin on a warm summer night. I simply can’t imagine a film adaptation that could ever capture the essence of Morrison’s prose.

This is my second time reading this book, with several years between, and I like it more as I’ve aged. While this book is short, it’s better to pace yourself as you read. I encourage the paperback because the pages are thick and that adds to the experience, causing you to take your time turning the page. Morrison’s prose is poetic, and she writes the way that jazz feels. This book alternates points of view as if it is one long stream of consciousness and travels between time just as quickly. Many passages I had to read over again as I did not grasp it the first time. There’s much to be said about love, grief, and generational trauma as well. Morrison has a talent for weaving together the stories and lives of her characters— in some ways I felt I was reading several short stories, and in others I was reading one long poem.

good quality

An entertaining read. The book chronicles the lives of Joe Trace, his wife Violet, and the possibility of salvaging their marriage, in the aftermath of the murder of his mistress. It examines the themes of love, infidelity, passion, violence, community, and racial identity in post slavery America. The novel also speaks to the exodus of black folks from the south, as they made their way up north to Harlem in the early 1900s, in search of a better way of life. It looks at how they interact, survive and thrive, in spite of their circumstances. Toni Morrison's, skillful prose gives the novel a cultural richness and vitality that resonates with the reader. Her writing style allows the novel to have the same flow, cadence and rhythm of jazz music. This is also appropriate, since the plot is largely centered on Harlem, in a era where jazz music was becoming increasingly popular, and formed the backdrop against which the people lived their lives. Overall this is a good novel, but you may find some of the author's other works a bit more compelling, such as The Bluest Eye, A Mercy, Sula and Beloved.

After having read this novel I can't believe all the negative reviews, most people claiming that the novel was too hard or difficult to follow. I've read 4 of Morrison's books (The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Sula and Beloved) and I'll have to say that enjoyed this one amensely and I pretty much read over a span of three days. It's not a difficult read, nor is it difficult to follow if you've read any of her before or read Hemmingway, Faulkner or Kerouac for that matter. On a second reading of any of Morrison's novels, you always come away with something new, as with any quality piece of literature. So I really don't buy into this idea that Morrison's novels, this one in particular are difficult to read. This being said, I found this novel to be a great pleasure, a story that's simple enough about a middle-aged married black couple The Traces in "the City" during 1920's the husband Joe Trace has a fling with a young girl named Dorcas Manfred whom he later kills in the middle of party though the girl's Aunt/Guardian doesn't press charges and the wife Violet "Violent" Trace tries to disfigure the dead girl in the casket at her funeral. That's basically it without giving away the novel. There is an almost sensual use of language here that tells the stories behind the story that is common in Morrison's novels that gives Jazz that particular kind of flavor that distinguishes it from Morrison's other works and makes this novel more than a pleasure to read. I highly recommend it!

Wherever Morrison digresses beautifully from the main plot, the words are not recorded. They've added some jazz music as background but that doesn't help much. Also missing is the helpful introduction by the author in the Kindle and presumably the printed version as well. Although it's wonderful to hear her voice, it's a little soft and fuzzy sometimes.

I loved this novel. It was beyond insightful. Good writing today is hard to come by, and this novel is just touching. I stopped to cry. Seriously I was breaking down in tears. No, I am not an emotional person. The writing in this breaks down what it means to be human. There has been much debate concerning the role of African Americans in Toni Morrison's novels, and you don't have to be black to relate to these characters. Yes it's a part of their character but hey that's what I love about it. These characters are real. They're flawed, and they're you and me. You know good writing states something that will always be true. It observes a phenomena in society, writes it down, and that writing transcends time, place, and people. That's what this novel does. I see NYC the way Morrison does and I love the role it plays in her novel.

Toni Morrison does it again…transcending color lines and bringing a story so rich, textured and layered. Love is the root of the story and the characters tell a compelling tale of love, generational pain and forgiveness. Much like her other works, she delves into the historical context of Black experience and connects the ancestral memory with the characters’ current experiences and patterns in relationships and friendships. Definitely a must read!!