Beloved by Toni Morrison
This novel tells the story of a former African-American slave woman who, after escaping to Ohio, is haunted by the ghost of her deceased daughter. The protagonist is forced to confront her repressed memories and the horrific realities of her past, including the desperate act she committed to protect her children from a life of slavery. The narrative is a poignant exploration of the physical, emotional, and psychological scars inflicted by the institution of slavery, and the struggle for identity and self-acceptance in its aftermath.
The 49th greatest book of all time
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- Published
- 1987
- Nationality
- American
- Length
- Medium
- Pages
- 275-350
- Original Language
- English
- Avg User Rating
-
(4.2)
- Alternate Titles
-
- Amatissima
- Menschenkind
- Кохана
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This book is on the following 104 lists:
- 1st on 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature (The Center for Fiction)
- 1st on What Is the Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years? (New York Times)
- 2nd on The 100 Best Novels Of All Time In English (The Guardian)
- 3rd on 10 Great Magical Realism Books to Lose Yourself In (Forbes)
- 3rd on The New Classics - 100 Best Reads from 1983 to 2008 (Entertainment Weekly)
- 4th on Quintessential American Fiction, According to the Rest of the World (Literary Hub)
- 5th on Books Of The Century (Library Journal)
- 5th on Click If You Dare: 100 Favorite Horror Stories (NPR)
- 5th on The 50 best books of the past 100 years (The Times)
- 5th on What’s the Best Book of the Past 125 Years? We Asked Readers to Decide. (New York Times)
- 7th on Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels (Radcliffe Publishing Course)
- 7th on The 100 Best Books from 1900 to the Present (Yedioth Ahronoth)
- 9th on Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Novels (Entertainment Weekly)
- 9th on Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century (themodernnovel.com)
- 9th on PEOPLE Picks the Best Books From the 1980s (PEOPLE Magazine)
- 9th on The Celebrity Reading List (Gardiner Public Library)
- 10th on Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books (Harvard Book Store)
- 11th on The 100 Stories that Shaped the World (BBC)
- 12th on 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction (Larry McCaffery)
- 13th on Fifty French Writers Choose Their Favorite 10 Books (On en garde 10 ! Pour la littérature)
- 13th on The Greatest Books of All Time (Reader's Digest)
- 14th on The 100 Favorite Novels of Librarians (Bookman.com)
- 16th on The 25 Greatest Horror Books Of All Time (Forbes)
- 16th on The Best Southern Novels of All Time (Oxford American)
- 16th on TrueLit's Top 100 Favorite Books (2023) (/r/TrueLit)
- 18th on 100 Best Books (Montana State University)
- 20th on Readers’ Top 100 Novels Of All Time (Guardian)
- 25th on 100 Must-Read Classics, as Chosen by our Readers (Penguin (UK))
- 31st on In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels (ThisRecording.com)
- 31st on The Modern Library's 100 Best Novels: The Readers' List (The Modern Library)
- 35th on The new modern classics — the nation’s favourite 20th century novels (The Times)
- 36th on Waterstone's Books of the Century (LibraryThing)
- 43rd on The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time (The Novel 100)
- 44th on 100 Best Books to Read by Women Authors (Good Housekeeping)
- 44th on 50 Best-Loved Novels Written by a Woman (United Kingdom) (Guardian)
- 45th on Our Users' Top 100 Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 45th on The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time (The Top 10 (Book))
- 48th on Edmonton's Top 100 (Edmonton Journal)
- 50th on The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read (Telegraph)
- 61st on America’s 100 Favorite Books (WordsRated)
- 87th on The 101 Favorite Novels of 'Le Monde' Readers (Le Monde)
- 119th on The Complete 500: OCLC (OCLC)
- 454th on The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users (Culture Café)
- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List (1,000 Books to Read Before You Die(Book))
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- 100 Best 20th-Century American Books (Hungry Mind Review)
- 100 Books, 100 Companions (Zeit Online)
- 100 Books to Love (Sunday Times)
- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.com (USA))
- 100 Great 20th Century English-language Works of Fiction by Women (Feminista!)
- 100 Life-Changing Books (National Book Award)
- 100 Novels That Shaped Our World (BBC)
- 110 Best Books: The Perfect Library (The Telegraph)
- 125 Books We Love for Adults (NY Public Library)
- 12 Novels Considered the Greatest Book Ever Written (Encyclopedia Britannica)
- 25 Books by Black Authors You Should Read This February (Oprah Daily)
- 25 Books to Read Before You Turn 25 (The Guardian)
- 500 Great Books by Women (Book)
- 500 Must Read Books (The Daily Telegraph)
- 501 Must-Read Books (LibraryThing)
- 50 Books That Defined Their Era (Guardian)
- 50 Books to (Re-)Read at 50 (nextavenue)
- 50 Memorable Books from 50 Years of Books to Remember (The New York Public Library)
- 75 Books Every Woman Should Read (Jezebel)
- 87 Books Written by Women That Are So Good, You Won't Be Able to Put Them Down (Pop Sugar)
- A Century of Reading (Lithub)
- A Century of World Literature 1925 - 2025 (Der Spiegel)
- A Response to David Handlin’s “One Hundred Best American Novels” (The American Scholar)
- Best Books Ever (Book Depository)
- Best Books (Fiction, Prose) : Experts Choose Their Favourites (The Book "Best Books")
- Books of the Century (The Age (Newspaper))
- Books That Shaped America (Library of Congress)
- Elena Ferrante Names her 40 Favourite Books by Female Authors (The Guardian)
- Ezra Klein Show's Most Recommended Books (Ezra Klein Show)
- Finding Comfort in the Classics (NY Times)
- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books (Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com)
- Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher (Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher)
- Laila Lalami's Book Choices from "The Writer's Library" ( The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives (Book))
- Latitude Festival's Top 20 Books by Women (Latitude Festival goers)
- NY Times Editors Choice 1980-1989 (NY Times)
- "Our Readable Century", The Best Books of the 20th Century -- Honorable Mention ( January Magazine)
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (Pulitzer Prize)
- Russell Banks's Book Choices from "The Writer's Library" (The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives (Book))
- The 100 Greatest American Novels, 1893 – 1993 (Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com)
- The 100 Novels That Have Most Enthralled "Le Monde" Since 1944 (Le Monde)
- The 100 Novels You Must Read in Your Lifetime (Esquire)
- The 50 Books Everyone Needs to Read, 1963-2013 (Flavor Wire)
- The 50 Most Influential Books of All Time (Open Education Database)
- The Best Of The 1980s (Sun-News)
- The Books You've Always Meant to Read (Waterstones)
- The College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers (The College Board, an American not-for-profit organization)
- The Dream of the Great American Novel (Book)
- The Great American Novels (The Atlantic)
- The Great American Read (PBS)
- The Modern Library: The Two Hundred Best Novels in English Since 1950 (The Modern Library (Book))
- The Spouter-Inn; or, A Conversation with Great Books (The Spouter-Inn Podcast)
- The ZORA Canon: The 100 greatest books ever written by African American women (Zora)
- #ThisBook (#ThisBook)
- This is the Canon: Decolonize Your Bookshelves in 50 Books (This is the Canon(Book))
- TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels (TIME Magazine)
- Top 100 Works in World Literature (Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute)
- Top Books Recommended on Cambridge Reading Lists (Oxbridge)
- What are the Goncourt Winners’ Favorite Books? (Télérama)