Tar Baby - Toni Morrison

http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-9780394423296-0: I took three classes in college that assigned this book: The Novel, African-American Litarature, and Feminist Literature. I vaguely recalled certain passages from the book and the characters names, but I was struck in re-reading it this time (as part of the Stanford on-line book club) as to how complex it is in terms of race, class and gender relations. Pretty much any stereotypical interaction between blacks and whites, rich and poor, man and woman, is played out in this novel - there are no real resolutions and some of the relationships are wildly overplayed, but overall this is an incredible piece of literature that I could see spending an entire semester on in college. It is basically the story of the rich white Valerian who retires to the Caribbean where his much younger wife broods over the absence of her college-aged son who is racked by white-guilt. Valerian employs a black butler and cook, as well as a yardman and washer - all of whom are uneducated, but still separated by class more than unified by race. The biracial niece of the butler and cook becomes a model and is educated at the Sorbonne through Valerian's money - and falls helpless in love with a shipwrecked illiterate from the South. The novel works through their complicated relationships - and at times tries to do a little too much. I always find Morrison's descriptive writing poetic - but in this one, I felt she captured the often awkward dialogue among the characters perfectly. For a thought-provoking work on race, class, and gender relations, it would be hard to go wrong with Tar Baby.