I tried to read Toni Morrison's "Jazz" twice. Once for an English class in college and the other when I thought I could conquer the books that conquered me. It won. I wasn't ready for her style then. I needed to be exposed to other authors whose focus more on characters, on moments, on experiences outweigh the need for plot. I had to expose myself to other people's journeys before I could begin to understand and comprehend the one she was laying out.

This book broke my heart.

Morrison's prose is so good. She tells you not only the story of the main character, but the characters around her. She tells you their past, the past of the parents, and the present. She exposes you to a part of America that many (if not most) white people don't think about or even consider. Through this technique, she shows how beauty standards have and can affect black children. The surprising and sad truth is that those themes are still important today. Not much has changed since this book was written.

Morrison also explores the characters' lives and gives the reader many complex black characters. By telling their history, she offers a glimpse of understanding their current predicaments. Even the darkest villain gets a past that leads you to (maybe) understand the present. She writes dark situations carefully and delicately.

I thought the book was really good up until the end. The last chapter connected the dots in a way that broke my heart and didn't see coming. That put it over the top for me. I plan to explore more of her writings now that I've got an idea of what to expect from her style.