A MERCY

Gentle Readers,

Yesterday I finished reading A Mercy by Toni Morrison.

I looked at the photo of Morrison's familiar face on the back cover and felt as if her strength and beauty had been transferred directly to the page. Oh, to be such a writer. Pulitzer Prize Winner. Nobel Laureate!

I have also read Beloved, which is amazing, and Song of Solomon, which has a particular passage about a death that moves me to tears every time I think of it.

What a powerful writer Morrison is.

My only disappointment with her is actually Oprah's fault, because Oprah made a movie of Beloved, starring herself. Check out the movie and see what you think, but I don't think Oprah was up to the task. She was a better actress in The Color Purple, before she was so famous and so full of herself.

As usual, though, the book of The Color Purple by Alice Walker is superior to the movie.

I celebrate you Toni Morrison, and you Alice Walker. Yes, you are important black, female writers, but your greatness transcends any particular category.

And Alice Walker, thank you for finding the approximate burial plot Zora Neale Hurston and putting the marker on it that it deserves: A Genius of the South. I love Their Eyes Were Watching God. What a wonderful character Janie is!

I think we need to explore Hurston more in the future and take a look at Maya Angelou, whose poetry and memoirs receive quite a bit of attention, and richly deserved attention it is.

Happy Reading, Gentle Readers.

Love,

Lola