Beloved

By: Toni Morrison

Narrated by: Toni Morrison

Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A spellbinding novel that transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. With a new afterword by the author.

This "brutally powerful, mesmerizing story” (People) is an unflinchingly look into the abyss of slavery, from the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner.

Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. Sethe has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.

“A masterwork.... Wonderful.... I can’t imagine American literature without it.” —John Leonard, Los Angeles Times

©1987 Toni Morrison (P)1998 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A masterwork. . . . Wonderful. . . . I can’t imagine American literature without it.” —John Leonard, Los Angeles Times

“A triumph.” —Margaret Atwood, The New York Times Book Review

“Toni Morrison’s finest work. . . . [It] sets her apart [and] displays her prodigious talent.” —Chicago Sun-Times

Toni Morrison is superb !

Having Toni Morrison narrate this story gives it life in a completely different way..some parts are difficult to follow but if you know the authors writing she often gives word to those things that are most difficult to express, feel, go through and admit..beloved is nothing short of all those things.

Undeniable

An even more unforgettable experience to have Toni Morrison read her masterpiece. She lends her voice to each heartbreak and triumph.

OUTSTANDING

Beautifully nuanced characters ,
Informative, Mysterious, painful, poignant details.
Compelling , no stellar , narration
Superb listening experience!

Unpredictable and addicting

It’s not what you think, and that’s what makes it so well written. You won’t be disappointed.

Spellbinding

While I found a few of the internal monologues over-long, I belive my time was well-spent reading this book. About the author as reader - as a life-long listener of talking books for the blind, I had no difficulty following Ms. Morrison's rendition of her work, tracking the characters, and the shifts in the story. In particular, she read with sufficient range and emotion to keep me interested in the book and her reading did not interfere with my ability to freely interpret the story for myself. I find that amateur readers often over dramatize. In the case of this powerful story, I imagine Ms. Morrison understood that the story was weighty enough without added emotion.

I love her, but she spoke so slowly!

I thought something was wrong with my audio. I kicked the speed up to 1.5, and then nearly 2 before the author's words were at a normal pace. You could hear all of the cuts/edits as well, which was off-putting, and there were a few places where bad edits were made and words were repeated as they were spliced together.

Having said that, the poetry of the writing was beautiful and convinced me to keep going when the reality of the words were so hard to hear. Toni Morrison is a brilliant author.

Stunning

This story is heartbreaking and beautiful. I was captivated from start to finish with virtually no sections where my mind wandered. Also, what a treat to have Toni Morrison read her own words!

Oh My God

What a story. I'm deeply stirred. How does she write a book like this. Thank you.

Magnificent!

Toni Morrison's epic novel his truly a monument of American literature. her performance is deeply moving.

Beloved

I really enjoyed listening to Toni Morrison read Beloved. It is beautiful story. I highly recommend it!