Tar Baby
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Tar Baby Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Toni Morrison (Author), Desiree Coleman (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,045 ratings
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A ravishingly beautiful and emotionally incendiary reinvention of the love story by the legendary Nobel Prize winner

Jadine Childs is a Black fashion model with a white patron, a white boyfriend, and a coat made out of ninety perfect sealskins. Son is a Black fugitive who embodies everything she loathes and desires. As Morrison follows their affair, which plays out from the Caribbean to Manhattan and the deep South, she charts all the nuances of obligation and betrayal between Blacks and whites, masters and servants, and men and women.

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  1. Listening Length
    11 hours and 26 minutes
  2. Author
    Toni Morrison
  3. Narrator
    Desiree Coleman
  4. Audible release date
    July 19, 2011
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B005DCA1RM
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 11 hours and 26 minutes
Author Toni Morrison
Narrator Desiree Coleman
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date July 19, 2011
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B005DCA1RM
Best Sellers Rank #52,084 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#753 in African American Literature
#1,141 in Classic Literature
#1,964 in Literary Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
1,045 global ratings
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Top reviews from the United States

August Baker
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2024
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This is not on the level of Beloved, but it's very very good. It leaves me feeling I was in theis big round, full world. Versus most other literary fiction where I feel like I got various flat slices of a world. Morrison was impossibly good.
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Frank Donnelly
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Novel by A Great Author, Although Not A Fun Reading Experience
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2022
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This is a great novel by a Noble Prize Winning Author. It is not necessarily a simple story. It is a romance novel, a romance between two very different individuals. But, as with other Toni Morrison novels, much, much more than that. It is often complicated, and full to overflowing with symbolism. The novel required my full attention all of the time. I recognize the greatness of the writing, but did not always enjoy it.

I have been reading Toni Morrison novels in the order of publication. Hence this is my fourth Toni Morrison novel. I cannot say that I have a favorite. There are times I am completely enthralled with each of them. There are times I shutter with each of them. This is serious intellectual literature. Toni Morrison addresses many issues including race issues, domestic violence and child abuse. The intelligence level is very high. This is great writing, not fun writing.

With every Toni Morrison novel that I have thus far read, I have purchased the accompanying audiobook. Every one has been superb. Until now my favorite audiobook was “The Bluest Eye” narrated by the author. I absolutely loved hearing the author reading to me, her own writing, in the manner she wanted it read. This audiobook is also really excellent. The performance, by Desiree Coleman, is extraordinary.

In summary I am overwhelmed by both the writing of Toni Morrison generally and this novel in particular. The writing is intricate and requires my full attention. It is not always fun. Another review wrote that Toni Morrison is in a league of her own. I completely agree. Thank You for taking the time to read this review.
20 people found this helpful
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Ella Mc
5.0 out of 5 stars magical
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2018
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My first read of TAR BABY was in high school just a couple years after it was published. I was young, thought I knew everything - especially about true love, and in a public school class where reading the assignments was not considered cool.

I doubt I picked up on much of the symbolism beyond the obvious Tar Baby motif. I don't recall knowing anything about the rest of the mythology I noticed this time: the wild horsemen, the contrast between black and white, nature and the very civilised house and the greenhouse, etc. I remember feeling more sympathy toward Jadine the first time round, probably because when I was young, I thought there was always a "right way" and "wrong way." Jadine's goal is to get to a certain place, and my impressionable young mind thought achieving that goal was worth it. I see a lot more grey these days and I appreciated the reread.

I was also impressed with how much I remembered. That says something for the pictures this book paints. It's been over thirty years since I read this, yet I knew the first scene, as interesting as it is on its own, was going to be mirrored at the end. I started looking for more of that, and that's when I realized what a genius Toni Morrison really is - beyond how just amazing she is all the time. The structure of the book is phenomenal yet unobtrusive. It's there, making the book resonate, but until I looked for it, it didn't stand out saying "here I am - clever me."

There's so much in this novel. If I were a teacher, I would surely use it to teach some of the larger themes Morrison tackles with so much ease: it's hard to be a woman - high on the list, it's hard to be a black man - also high on the list, colorism, nature/wild/black/"scary" v civilized/tame/white/not scary, black hair and "can I touch it" (no,) that damned sealskin coat is so loaded with more than just a naked Jadine, plain ole racism that comes out in moments of stress, the power dynamic between young and old (I think it says something about my age that I felt for Valerian more this time too.)

Anyway, I'm not a teacher, so I'll shut up, and just say it's good to read Toni Morrison again.
17 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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madamR
5.0 out of 5 stars Magic book 5 stars ratings is not good enough
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2021
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I loved this book and did not want it to end. All characters are amazing, each build with complexity reflecting life where at the end it is not possible to judge who is good and who is bad it all depends ......
Toni Morrison is one of those writers that is in league of her own 5 stars ratings is really not good enough
2 people found this helpful
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S.M
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book!
Reviewed in Canada on September 4, 2019
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All Toni Morrison books are amazing.
This one came in the mail quickly and no folds or creases.
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Finocchiaro
5.0 out of 5 stars Poetic and poignant, masterful writing
Reviewed in France on April 15, 2020
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In Tar Baby, Toni Morrison takes us to the heart of colonialism and weaves in a passionate love story. Son and Jadine, Valérien and Margaret, Sydney ans Ondine - all the characters are unforgettable. Truly literature at its highest mode of expression.
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Notorious V.E.G
5.0 out of 5 stars Schöner Lesestoff
Reviewed in Germany on December 27, 2017
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Toni Morrison ist einfach eine faszinierende Frau und Autorin, jedes Buch ist es wert gelesen zu werden. Daher klar 5 Sterne von mir.
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in India on September 19, 2016
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nice and very easy to understand. i like it
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