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God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

Toni MorrisonBride is young, in her twenties, but has learned early the importance of a word, a gesture, a look that can change people’s perception of you, as long as you stick to it, you become known for it, unforgettable, and that one thing can change your world.

God Help the Child is mostly told through the life experience of Bride, a name she chose for herself as she launched herself into a successful and glamorous career in the perfume/fashion world.

It is far from the memory of neglect and disapproval that was her constant companion throughout childhood, channeled through the eyes, words and gestures of a mother unable to move beyond the disappointment of the blue/black tone of her daughter’s skin.

‘I told her to call me “Sweetness” instead of “Mother” or “Mama”. It was safer. Being that black and having what I think are too-thick lips calling me “Mama” would confuse people. Besides, she has funny-coloured eyes, crow-black with a blue tint, something witchy about them too.’

Before her second interview for the job she covets, she consults a designer called Jeri, who convinces her to only ever wear white, accentuating both her new name and because of the effect it had on what he described as her licorice skin.

‘At first it was boring shopping for white-only clothes until I learned how many shades of white there were: ivory, oyster, alabaster, paper white, snow, cream, ecru, Champagne, ghost, bone.’

Bride waits in a prison parking lot for a convicted felon to emerge on the last day of their sentence. She comes with a gift and a different form of naivety than that she possessed when her testimony put this person away for 20 long years.

Her current boyfriend Booker has just left her, and now this. She excels in acquiring knowledge to help her scale the ladder of success, but there is a gaping hole within that pushes her to put all else aside and find answers to questions she can barely articulate to herself.

On a whim, she tries to track down the man who disappeared without a goodbye and after a car accident and injury, finds herself living with a couple and a girl in self-imposed poverty; a stark contrast to her lifestyle. As she pursues those unclear questions, strange but noticeable things begin to happen to her body, as if it is regressing towards childhood.

Each subsequent part tells of an encounter of someone she meets or has met previously and although their stories differ there is a common thread that ties them all and demonstrates in various ways the effect these childhood experiences have on a person subsequently, how they shape who we become, how we react to things, how they affect one’s perception.

Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison

The characters enthrall, each one introduced fleetingly, intriguing and hinting at the depths that their own stories have led them to become. Morrison makes us wait and slowly reveals those experiences for the select few deemed important to the narrative. It is perhaps through this hinting at and omission, that much is left to the reader to contemplate, but then Morrison isn’t known for having to spell it all out or writing sagas, and there is enough divulged to create a balance and equal contribution between the four parts of the novel.

It is a thought-provoking, evocative novel that deserves more than one reading, demonstrating the ease with which Toni Morrison and her narrative skill are able to skate into the 21st century, to pick up and explore the nuances of another of society’s dysfunctional aspects, that the things you do and say to children in their early years really matter and will impact their adult perceptions, actions and relationships. However, there are moments, that if grasped, can and do lead one out of that.

Brilliantly told, subtle and yet powerful, Morrison’s final words at the end of the book, reminded me of the closing words of Maya Angelou in an interview she gave to the BBC near the end of her life, after a lifetime of addressing issues that manifest throughout life, her final words too, speak of children.

“Exercise patience with yourself first, so you can forgive yourself for all the dumb things you do. Then exercise patience with your children.” Maya Angelou

20 thoughts on “God Help the Child by Toni Morrison”

    • Another gem from the library and an enthralling read for me, though not a universal opinion judging by some of the reviews I have read. However, for me it really worked, being more than just a story, a kind of tapestry of experiences that together are greater than the sum of its parts.

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  2. Sounds fabulous! I am reading 2 right now and I’ve got a list of books you’ve reviewed I want to read but this may just go to the head of that list 🙂

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    • I wasn’t aware of it either until I spotted this on the English language bookshelf at the library and saw it had been published in 2015.

      It’s been perceived as something of a departure for Toni Morrison according to a few reveiews I’ve read, for one it’s very modern age, but I think it’s actually quite a sophisticated treatment of a theme, structured as it is in exploring the stories of the various characters and the different ways their formative experiences have rendered them as adults. Just the merest hint of magic realism, but symbolic when it is used.

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  5. I haven’t read any Tony Morrison and I feel this is the perfect book for me so start. Thanks for the review – and for adding yet another book to my Christmas wishlist!

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    • Very happy to oblige, it’s an interesting place to start and likely to be different from my first introduction to Toni Morrison, which was Beloved, I read it as a teenager and found it really tough to understand and kept away from her work for a long time afterwards. Then one day I picked up her book Love and was hooked, it so much more accessible than that first book and they’ve been a pleasure to read since that false start, especially given that first one is for some the great masterpiece.

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  7. Toni Morrison: I keep avoiding her books and don’t know why. I listened to an interview with her on BBC World and was duely impresses. I think the subject matter she writes about…I’m afraid it will depress me so much. Now, as Nobel Prize winner I must read one of her books. I had selected ‘ Son of Solomon’ but may switch to this book, God Help the Child. Lovely review and looking forward to tour next book!

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    • I didn’t like the first book of hers I read as you may have read above, but then years later the next book I absolutely adored. I almost feel sorry for her as a writer, as her readers have such high expectations of her, but I think she rises to that challenge and writes very though-provoking books and isn’t affected by what others think.

      I haven’t read Song of Solomon, it sounds like a good choice too. I read and reviewed Sula on here last year too. Here is a link to that review:

      Sula by Toni Morrison

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    • It is great that she has so many to choose from and also being of the size of a novella. They are all thought provoking that’s for sure, exactly what a good novel should do. I recommend Love too, one of my favourites of her collection.

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  10. I hadn’t heard of this Claire, so thanks for bringing it to my attention. I’m a fan of Morrison’s though have only read about 3 of her books. This sounds like it would be a good one to renew my acquaintance with. Those quotes are delicious.

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