Tar Baby

By: Toni Morrison

Narrated by: Desiree Coleman

A ravishingly beautiful and emotionally incendiary reinvention of the love story by the legendary Nobel Prize winner

“Arresting images, fierce intelligence, poetic language . . . One becomes entranced by Toni Morrison’s story.” —The Washington Post

Jadine Childs is a Black fashion model with a white patron, a white boyfriend, and a coat made out of ninety perfect sealskins. Son is a Black fugitive who embodies everything she loathes and desires. As Morrison follows their affair, which plays out from the Caribbean to Manhattan and the deep South, she charts all the nuances of obligation and betrayal between Blacks and whites, masters and servants, and men and women.

Critic reviews

“Deeply perceptive. . . . Return[s] risk and mischief to the contemporary American novel.” —John Irving, The New York Times Book Review

“Toni Morrison has made herself into the D. H. Lawrence of the black psyche, transforming individuals into forces, idiosyncrasy into inevitability.” —New York

“Arresting images, fierce intelligence, poetic language . . . One becomes entranced by Toni Morrison’s story.” —The Washington Post

“Wrenchingly good. A terrific book.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Hypnotic, stunningly alive.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

“That rare commodity, a truly public novel. . . . Morrison’s genius lies in her uncanny ability to immerse you totally in the world she creates.” —Newsweek

“Powerful. . . . A stunning performance. . . . Morrison is one of the most exciting living American writers.” —Kansas City Star

“It takes one to the sheer edge of human relationships.” —Vogue

“Wise, beautiful, astonishing, absolutely breathtaking.” —St. Louis Globe-Democrat

“Reminds us again that Toni Morrison is one of the finest writers in America today.” —Louisville Courier-Journal

“Tar Baby is stupendous. Morrison is a writer of amazing skill.” —Roanoke Times & World

“Its scope is grand and the interplay complex. But Morrison has the control of a skilled choreographer, with a careful eye pinned on pacing, suspense, grace, and frenzy. . . . She has an awesome lyric flair.” —The Charlotte Observer

Loved

Not sure why I hadn't read this sooner. A masterpiece! I see why it won the Nobel Prize. The language is so richly woven together.

Great !!

I loved every minute of this book .The narrator was very good at making you like you were right in the story but let's face it Toni Morrison is a phenomenal writer.

Great

Loved it and the narrator was very good at the story telling it made me feel like I was part of the story.

so much individual truth

wow! I loved it all . the struggle, the love, the anger, the fear! it spoke to all types of people. and WE ALL share similar experiences just looking through different lenses! my 1st Toni Morrison novel but definitely not my last.

Excellent book and reader

The book is great. I had a problem at first with the reader and originally rated the reader low, however after several hours of listening, I started really enjoying the reader's voice. I highly recommend this Audible reading of the Tar Baby.