Beloved by Toni Morrison
This novel tells the story of a former African-American slave woman who, after escaping to Ohio, is haunted by the ghost of her deceased daughter. The protagonist is forced to confront her repressed memories and the horrific realities of her past, including the desperate act she committed to protect her children from a life of slavery. The narrative is a poignant exploration of the physical, emotional, and psychological scars inflicted by the institution of slavery, and the struggle for identity and self-acceptance in its aftermath.
The 32nd greatest book of all time
- Published
- 1987
- Nationality
- American
- Type
- Fiction
- Pages
- 275-350
- Words
- 90,000
- Original Language
- English
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This book is on the following lists:
- 1st on 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature (The Center for Fiction)
- 1st on What Is the Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years? (New York Times)
- 3rd on The New Classics - 100 Best Reads from 1983 to 2008 (Entertainment Weekly)
- 4th on Quintessential American Fiction, According to the Rest of the World (Literary Hub)
- 5th on What’s the Best Book of the Past 125 Years? We Asked Readers to Decide. (New York Times)
- 5th on Click If You Dare: 100 Favorite Horror Stories (NPR)
- 5th on The 50 best books of the past 100 years (The Times)
- 7th on Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels (Radcliffe Publishing Course)
- 9th on Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century (themodernnovel.com)
- 9th on The Celebrity Reading List (Gardiner Public Library)
- 9th on Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Novels (Entertainment Weekly)
- 10th on Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books (Harvard Book Store)
- 12th on 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction (Larry McCaffery)
- 13th on The Greatest Books of All Time (Reader's Digest)
- 14th on The 100 Favorite Novels of Librarians (Bookman.com)
- 16th on The Best Southern Novels of All Time (Oxford American)
- 18th on 100 Best Books (Montana State University)
- 31st on In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels (ThisRecording.com)
- 36th on Waterstone's Books of the Century (LibraryThing)
- 43rd on The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time (The Novel 100)
- 44th on 100 Best Books to Read by Women Authors (Good Housekeeping)
- 45th on The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time (The Top 10 (Book))
- 50th on The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read (Telegraph)
- 70th on Our Users' Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 119th on The Complete 500: OCLC (OCLC)
- 454th on The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users (Culture Café)
- 100 Novels That Shaped Our World (BBC)
- Finding Comfort in the Classics (NY Times)
- #ThisBook (#ThisBook)
- 12 Novels Considered the Greatest Book Ever Written (Encyclopedia Britannica)
- The ZORA Canon: The 100 greatest books ever written by African American women (Zora)
- A Century of Reading (Lithub)
- The Books You've Always Meant to Read (Waterstones)
- 25 Books by Black Authors You Should Read This February (Oprah Daily)
- 500 Great Books by Women (Book)
- Best Books (Fiction, Prose) : Experts Choose Their Favourites (The Book "Best Books")
- The Great American Novels (The Atlantic)
- The 50 Most Influential Books of All Time (Open Education Database)
- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.com (USA))
- TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels (TIME Magazine)
- Top 100 Works in World Literature (Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute)
- The Modern Library: The Two Hundred Best Novels in English Since 1950 (The Modern Library (Book))
- 100 Great 20th Century English-language Works of Fiction by Women (Feminista!)
- Latitude Festival's Top 20 Books by Women (Latitude Festival goers)
- 87 Books Written by Women That Are So Good, You Won't Be Able to Put Them Down (Pop Sugar)
- Books of the Century (The Age (Newspaper))
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- Books That Shaped America (Library of Congress)
- 50 Memorable Books from 50 Years of Books to Remember (The New York Public Library)
- 110 Best Books: The Perfect Library (The Telegraph)
- The 100 Greatest American Novels, 1893 – 1993 (Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com)
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (Pulitzer Prize)
- The 50 Books Everyone Needs to Read, 1963-2013 (Flavor Wire)
- 50 Books to (Re-)Read at 50 (nextavenue)
- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books (Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com)
- 100 Life-Changing Books (National Book Award)
- Best Books Ever (bookdepository.com)
- The College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers (The College Board, an American not-for-profit organization)
- The Dream of the Great American Novel (Book)
- The Great American Read (PBS)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)