Beloved.

By Toni Morrison.

Synopsis:
Ex-slave Sethe and her daughter Denver are the recipients of an angry ghost who terrorises their home. Because of the ghost and her past, the surrounding community have turned their backs on Sethe. Things change when Paul D arrives at the house. He used to know Sethe when they were both slaves. He forces the ghost out and tries to bring Sethe and Denver back into the world.

Things get bad when a girl arrives at their house. She does not know where she is from, or who she was with before. Calling herself Beloved, she soon becomes a sister to Denver and another daughter for Sethe, and eventually forces Paul D away. She says she came for Sethe and she won't go untill she does.

Review:
Ok, this book isn't my normal reading material. For one, this has a plot. The book is set in the early 18th century and figures strongly on the American black slave trade. Reading it can be difficult as Morrison has the disturbing ability to make bad images sound beautiful... this is, of course, untill you work out what she is talking about.

As I read I personally felt able to relate to the characters, their pasts and the decisons they made.

Only read this if you have a good attention span and don't mind graphic descriptions of physical and sexual abuse.