Sula

A Novel

De: Toni Morrison, Jesmyn Ward - introduction

Narrado por: Toni Morrison, Karen Murray

One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years • A modern masterpiece about love and kinship, about living in an America birthed from slavery. Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison gives life to characters who struggle with what society tells them to be, and the love they long for and crave as Black women. • With a new introduction by Jesmyn Ward.

“Extravagantly beautiful. . . . Enormously, achingly alive.” —The New York Times

Sula and Nel are born in the Bottom—a small town at the top of a hill. Sula is wild, and daring; she does what she wants, while Nel is well-mannered, a mamma’s girl with a questioning heart. Growing up they forge a bond stronger than anything, stronger even than the dark secret they have to bear. Strong enough, it seems, to last a lifetime—until, decades later, as the girls become women, Sula’s anarchy leads to a betrayal that may be beyond forgiveness.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Extravagantly beautiful. . . . Enormously, achingly alive. . . . A howl of love and rage, playful and funny as well as hard and bitter.” —The New York Times

“Exemplary. . . . The essential mysteries of death and sex, friendship and poverty are expressed with rare economy.” —Newsweek

“In characters like Sula, Toni Morrison’s originality and power emerge.” —The Nation

“Enchanting. . . . Powerful.” —Chicago Daily News

“Toni Morrison is not just an important contemporary novelist but a major figure in our national literature.” —The New York Review of Books

“Sula is one of the most beautifully written, sustained works of fiction I have read in some time. . . . [Morrison] is a major talent.” —Elliot Anderson, Chicago Tribune

“As mournful as a spiritual and as angry as a clenched fist . . . written in language so pure and resonant that it makes you ache.” —Playboy

“In the first ranks of our living novelists.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Toni Morrison’s gifts are rare: the re-creation of the black experience in America with both artistry and authenticity.” —Library Journal

“Should be read and passed around by book-lovers everywhere.” —Los Angeles Free Press

Good against evil and a riotous story to boot

This was a well thought out, well put together novel. Everything draws together at the end. In addition, the author knows how to tell a story.

The characters are real, unpredictable, flesh-and-blood people. People you have known in your life, or wished to know. The reader is immersed into the culture of a backwater black neighborhood of the early 20th century.

The story has twists and turns, some back stories, but I followed it easily while alone cleaning my kitchen. I can usually predict a plot twist, but not this time. Something was happening every 5 minutes, or so it seemed.

Similar to the books of Thomas Hardy, there are all of these characters, all of these lives and interactions within a community, an interesting plot, and a thread of morality winding through it all. I didn't really notice the thread, but many things made me feel uncomfortable with both Nell and Sula. All is explained at the end and justice prevails. I felt better only to discover that I had been "had" by the moral questions now raised within myself.

Some people complained about the narration. I had no problem with it, but I listen on my computer instead of a device, if that makes any difference. The author speaks deliberately, but without a lot of expression. This way you can interpret her words as you wish, just as if you were reading it.

In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It has everything one could wish for. I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in fine literature.

performance 10

this was the most unbearably beautiful reading. I want to start all over. she is simply extraordinary.

Amazing but flawed audio

An incredible story. Lewd and pastoral all at once, Toni’s prose shines. But some parts of the audio repeat, and one page of the book is missing from the recording. A masterpiece like this deserves a corrected version.

Beautiful narration and character development

The story telling was impeccable and so descriptive. The many individual plots and storylines merged together so seamlessly.

Worst "listen" ever

This is hands down the worst story I have ever listened to. The authors was of speaking makes this story pure torture. I asked a lot of people to take a listen to see if it was just me but nope. The author should have kept the drama out of the read or hired someone to replace her. Her way of speaking is so over the top that you can't follow the story.