The Bluest Eye
Morrison's first novel approaches childhood and self-image through a different Ohio family and a girl's desire for acceptance.
Read our take
Song of Solomon
Milkman Dead's search for his family's origins turns a coming-of-age story into an inquiry about inheritance and belonging.
- 1977
- 368
- Wry
- Atmospheric
- lyrical
- voice-driven
- episodic
- experimental
About Toni Morrison
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeSong of Solomon is Toni Morrison's third novel, first published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1977. It follows Macon Dead, known as Milkman, from a prosperous Black household in the Midwest toward the places and stories of his family's past. His father, aunt Pilate, friend Guitar, and cousin Hagar offer conflicting attachments and expectations. The book won the National Book Critics Circle's 1977 fiction award.
The story, in more detail
The opening places Milkman's birth beside an insurance agent's attempt to fly from a hospital roof. A private beginning arrives within a public event, surrounded by spectators, spilled rose petals, singing, and a segregated institution.
Street names immediately become part of the story's argument. Residents preserve the memory of a Black doctor in a name that officials reject. Their response turns the official correction into another way of remembering him.
The family journey widens the question of inheritance beyond money. Morrison's publisher describes four generations of Black life, with Milkman's outward movement also becoming a search for the past he has not understood.
The narrative's mixture of comedy, spoken language, and extraordinary events invites patient reading. An apparently incidental name or song can deserve as much attention as a formal announcement of family history.
Quotes from Song of Solomon
Please forgive me. I loved you all.
They called it Not Doctor Street
Why we recommend it
Inheritance beyond property
The novel makes a family's past worth investigating even when it cannot be reduced to an asset. That question gives Milkman's journey a meaning beyond movement through places.
A community heard speaking
The opening moves among formal notices, neighborhood names, conversation, and song. These different uses of language reveal competing kinds of authority.
A memorable approach to beginnings
Birth, public spectacle, exclusion, and a longing for flight meet in the opening. The unusual arrangement invites readers to ask what a person's life has inherited before it begins.
What this book explores
The people in its pages
Milkman Dead
Macon Dead, known as Milkman, whose journey organizes the novel.
Pilate Dead
Milkman's aunt, an important figure in the family history he gradually comes to understand.
Timeline
1977
Alfred A. Knopf publishes Song of Solomon, Morrison's third novel.
1977 award year
The National Book Critics Circle selects Song of Solomon as its fiction winner.
2004
Vintage issues paperback ISBN 9781400033423 on June 8.
Book editions
Hardcover
- Hardcover
- Alfred A. Knopf
- 1977
- Paperback
- Vintage
- 2004
- 9781400033423
Reader reviews
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Beloved
Morrison's later novel gives family memory a haunting presence and makes the past a force within daily life.
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Not Without Laughter
Hughes's earlier coming-of-age novel also lets a young person's family offer competing examples of how to live.
Read our takeSong of Solomon: frequently asked questions
What is Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon about?
It follows Milkman Dead from his Midwestern family toward the places and stories of his ancestors. His journey brings questions about property, family ties, memory, and belonging into focus.
Who is Milkman Dead?
Milkman is the nickname of Macon Dead, the novel's central character. The narrative begins around his birth and follows his development toward an adult search for family history.
Who is Pilate in Song of Solomon?
Pilate Dead is Milkman's aunt. She becomes an important connection to the family history and ways of living that his father's emphasis on property does not explain.
Is this the biblical Song of Solomon?
No. This is Toni Morrison's 1977 novel. The biblical book is a separate work, also called the Song of Songs.
What award did Song of Solomon win?
It won the National Book Critics Circle's fiction award for 1977. Morrison's Nobel Prize in Literature came in 1993 and recognized her writing as an author.
Which edition has Tayari Jones's introduction?
The current Vintage listing for ISBN 9781400033423 credits a new introduction by Tayari Jones, alongside Morrison's foreword, and lists 368 pages. The ISBN was first issued in June 2004; later printings have updated front matter.
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References
References
The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document Song of Solomon, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1Song of Solomon
NovelToni Morrison, 1977Used forThe primary text represented by this page, used for descriptions of the work’s contents and for any quoted passages shown here.
2Toni Morrison — Bibliography
Official recordNobel Prize OutreachUsed forThe novel's original Knopf publication and its position after The Bluest Eye and Sula.
3Song of Solomon: Vintage Edition
WebsitePenguin Random HouseUsed forSelected edition, ISBN, current extent, introductory material, and broad account of Milkman's journey.
4Song of Solomon: Publisher Description and Opening Excerpt
NovelPenguin Random HouseUsed forFamily roles and the primary opening, including the hospital, street names, and Milkman's childhood. This excerpt does not supply the complete novel.
5Song of Solomon: 1977 National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award
Official recordNational Book Critics CircleUsed forOfficial 1977 fiction award record.
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Why these sources are here
The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.
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