God Help the Child: A novel

God Help the Child: A novel is Toni Morrison’s latest novel and is less than 200 hundred pages long so you could probably finish it in one sitting. It only took me two. In comparison to Toni Morrison, I am a barbarian, however this barbarian thinks that God Help the Child: A novel felt rushed and as close to chick lit as she will ever get. Initially each chapter is told from a character’s perspective then it shifts to the narrator’s perspective of the characterizes events unfold then alternates perspectives from narrator to character’s perspective with no rhythm which I could discern. There are a lot of heavy scenes that intersect and affect each character with a dash of magical realism: pedophilia, child murder, self-hatred, racism, etc. It is Murphy’s Law taken to extremes if something bad could happen, then something worse will follow, and just when things seem to finally calm down, more disaster. It can be a bit much. Morrison is suggesting that what happens to you as a child will affect your adult relationships, and you can’t be fully yourself until you face and get over that pain then accept imperfect love so you can inflict it on the next unsuspecting victim, your child. Hurrah!…..?