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 16th greatest book of all time
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Total Points: 4856
This book was first published in 1987
55 Lists
- score: 153 -- The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time - 2007 (Weight: 150)
- score: 150 -- Top 100 Works in World Literature - 2002 (Weight: 150)
- score: 150 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 150)
- score: 126 -- 100 Life-Changing Books - 2006 (Weight: 126)
- score: 126 -- 100 Novels That Shaped Our World - 2019 (Weight: 126)
- score: 120 -- Books of the Century - 1999 (Weight: 120)
- score: 120 -- 50 Memorable Books from 50 Years of Books to Remember - 2005 (Weight: 120)
- score: 115 -- What’s the Best Book of the Past 125 Years? We Asked Readers to Decide. - 2021 (Weight: 96)
- score: 108 -- Finding Comfort in the Classics - 2020 (Weight: 108)
- score: 108 -- 500 Great Books by Women - 1994 (Weight: 108)
- score: 106 -- The Greatest Books of All Time - 2022 (Weight: 102)
- score: 102 -- The Great American Read - 2018 (Weight: 102)
- score: 101 -- The Best Southern Novels of All Time - 2009 (Weight: 96)
- score: 101 -- The Celebrity Reading List - 2007 (Weight: 96)
- score: 100 -- Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century - 1999 (Weight: 96)
- score: 99 -- Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books - 2011 (Weight: 96)
- score: 99 -- The 100 Favorite Novels of Librarians - 1999 (Weight: 96)
- score: 96 -- 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction - 1999 (Weight: 93)
- score: 96 -- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime - 2014 (Weight: 96)
- score: 96 -- Best Books Ever - 2006 (Weight: 96)
- score: 95 -- In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels - 2011 (Weight: 93)
- score: 94 -- Quintessential American Fiction, According to the Rest of the World - 2015 (Weight: 90)
- score: 94 -- Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels - 1998 (Weight: 90)
- score: 93 -- 12 Novels Considered the Greatest Book Ever Written - 2016 (Weight: 93)
- score: 90 -- The Great American Novels - 2024 (Weight: 90)
- score: 87 -- 100 Best Books - 2010 (Weight: 84)
- score: 87 -- A Century of Reading - 2018 (Weight: 87)
- score: 85 -- What Is the Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years? - 2006 (Weight: 72)
- score: 84 -- Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Novels - 2013 (Weight: 81)
- score: 84 -- The ZORA Canon: The 100 greatest books ever written by African American women - 2020 (Weight: 84)
- score: 82 -- The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time - 2004 (Weight: 81)
- score: 81 -- TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels - 2005 (Weight: 81)
- score: 81 -- 50 Books to (Re-)Read at 50 - 2012 (Weight: 81)
- score: 81 -- 110 Best Books: The Perfect Library - 2008 (Weight: 81)
- score: 81 -- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books - 2013 (Weight: 81)
- score: 81 -- The 50 Most Influential Books of All Time - 2010 (Weight: 81)
- score: 80 -- Waterstone's Books of the Century - 1997 (Weight: 78)
- score: 78 -- The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users - 2008 (Weight: 78)
- score: 75 -- The 50 Books Everyone Needs to Read, 1963-2013 - 2013 (Weight: 75)
- score: 73 -- 100 Best Books to Read by Women Authors - 2021 (Weight: 72)
- score: 72 -- 100 Great 20th Century English-language Works of Fiction by Women - 1998 (Weight: 72)
- score: 72 -- Books That Shaped America - 2012 (Weight: 72)
- score: 70 -- The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read - 2009 (Weight: 69)
- score: 69 -- Click If You Dare: 100 Favorite Horror Stories - 2018 (Weight: 66)
- score: 69 -- The Modern Library: The Two Hundred Best Novels in English Since 1950 - 2011 (Weight: 69)
- score: 69 -- 25 Books by Black Authors You Should Read This February - 2024 (Weight: 69)
- score: 69 -- The College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers - 2002 (Weight: 69)
- score: 69 -- The Books You've Always Meant to Read - 2020 (Weight: 69)
- score: 57 -- 87 Books Written by Women That Are So Good, You Won't Be Able to Put Them Down - 2020 (Weight: 57)
- score: 57 -- The Dream of the Great American Novel - 2014 (Weight: 57)
- score: 54 -- Latitude Festival's Top 20 Books by Women - 2016 (Weight: 54)
- score: 54 -- #ThisBook - 2014 (Weight: 54)
- score: 51 -- The 100 Greatest American Novels, 1893 – 1993 - 2013 (Weight: 51)
- score: 40 -- The New Classics - 100 Best Reads from 1983 to 2008 - 2008 (Weight: 39)
- score: 18 -- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction - Yearly Book Award (Weight: 18)