From the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner—a spellbinding symphony of passion and hatred, power and perversity, color and class that spans three generations of Black women in a fading beach town.
“A marvelous work, which enlarges our conception not only of love but of racial politics.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review
In life, Bill Cosey enjoyed the affections of many women, who would do almost anything to gain his favor. In death his hold on them may be even stronger. Wife, daughter, granddaughter, employee, mistress: As Morrison’s protagonists stake their furious claim on Cosey’s memory and estate, using everything from intrigue to outright violence, she creates a work that is shrewd, funny, erotic, and heartwrenching.
“Like love at first sight, it has the ability to startle.” —The Boston Globe
“A deeply affecting work by a Great American Novelist who is still . . . at the top of her form. . . . Morrison’s tender, taut prose wastes no word, no syllable, no letter. . . . A novel of devastating revelations, impeccably arranged.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“A marvelous work, which enlarges our conception not only of love but of racial politics, the ubiquitous past and . . . paradise.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review
“A dense, dark star of a novel . . . with Morrison writing at the top of her game.” —Newsweek
“Toni Morrison reframes the mythology of love in a dark light and comes away with a mesmerizing gem.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“Like every other stealthy Morrison novel, Love has closets and cellars, bolt-holes and trap-doors and card tricks. . . . Yet again, she gives us dreams.” —John Leonard, Vanity Fair
“The carefully crafted work of a storyteller entirely unburdened by her Nobel Prize. . . . William Faulkner and Eudora Welty would feel right welcome. . . . The moral palette of this novel displays a full range of colors.” —The Christian Science Monitor
“A profound commentary on the power of love.” —The Baltimore Sun
“Love is slim and tight as a folded fan, yet from it the author flashes a panorama three generations wide. . . . When the reader closes the book . . . there is the satisfaction of a song that has ended just right. The standing soloist we applaud . . . is the fierce literary intelligence of Morrison striking the chords of human experience and playing it wise.” —The Miami Herald
“Magisterial and gripping . . . a knockout. . . . A reminder of what a marvel a novel can be.” —Rocky Mountain News
“To enter a novel by Morrison is to enter a world fully imagined, and Love is no exception. . . . Love takes you on the first page and holds you in the welcome spell of a writer who knows what she’s doing, and who can slip into the most ordinary sentence a twist of surprise.” —San Jose Mercury News
“Love is Morrison back at the peak of her talent. . . . The novel lives up to its name and puts to rest any doubts that its author is anything except great.” —New York Daily News
“[A] beautifully wrought meditation on society, family and human nature . . . brimming with provocative, beautiful writing.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Love . . . [is] like that song you remember from long ago, the one you danced to, sweet and slow, and which has haunted you ever since. . . . Morrison’s tale lies in its telling, not just the lilting lyricism of her prose but also the insight into her characters’ hidden hearts.” —The Orlando Sentinel
“For pure pleasure, it deserves to be read more than once.” —The Plain Dealer
“There is beauty and wisdom in Love. . . . Her lyrical talent and her profound intelligence . . . make themselves felt.” —The New York Observer
