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Jazz Paperback – June 8, 2004

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,437 ratings

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From the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner, a passionate, profound story of love and obsession that brings us back and forth in time, as a narrative is assembled from the emotions, hopes, fears, and deep realities of Black urban life. With a foreword by the author.

“As rich in themes and poetic images as her Pulitzer Prize–winning Beloved.... Morrison conjures up the hand of slavery on Harlem’s jazz generation. The more you listen, the more you crave to hear.” —Glamour

In the winter of 1926, when everybody everywhere sees nothing but good things ahead, Joe Trace, middle-aged door-to-door salesman of Cleopatra beauty products, shoots his teenage lover to death. At the funeral, Joe’s wife, Violet, attacks the girl’s corpse. This novel “transforms a familiar refrain of jilted love into a bold, sustaining time of self-knowledge and discovery. Its rhythms are infectious” (
People).

"The author conjures up worlds with complete authority and makes no secret of her angst at the injustices dealt to Black women.”The New York Times Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Wonderful. . . . A brilliant, daring novel. . . . Every voice amazes.” —Chicago Tribune

“She may be the last classic American writer, squarely in the tradition of Poe, Melville, Twain and Faulkner.” —Newsweek

“[A] masterpiece. . . . She has moved from strength to strength until she has reached the distinction of being beyond comparison.” —
Entertainment Weekly

“Thrillingly written . . . seductive. . . . Some of the finest lyric passages ever written in a modern novel.” —Chicago Sun-Times

“A compelling blend of heart and language. . . . Resounds with passion.” —The Boston Globe

“Marvelous. . . . Morrison is perhaps the finest novelist of our time.” —Vogue

“The author conjures up worlds with complete authority and makes no secret of her angst at the injustices dealt to black women.” —Edna O’Brien, The New York Times Book Review

“She captures that almost indistinguishable mixture of the anxiety and rapture of expectation—that state of desire where sin is just another word for appetite.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“As rich in themes and poetic images as her Pulitzer Prize–winning Beloved. . . . Morrison conjures up the hand of slavery on Harlem’s jazz generation. The more you listen, the more you crave to hear.” —Glamour

“She is the best writer in America. Jazz, for sure; but also Mozart.” —John Leonard, National Public Radio

“A masterpiece. . . . A sensuous, haunting story of various kinds of passion. . . . Mesmerizing.” —
Cosmopolitan

“Lyrically brooding. . . . One accepts the characters of Jazz as generalized figures moving rhythmically in the narrator’s mind.” —The New York Times

“Transforms a familiar refrain of jilted love into a bold, sustaining time of self-knowledge and discovery. Its rhythms are infectious.” —People

From the Inside Flap

In the afterglow of a clean triumph--her widely celebrated, Pulitzer Prize-winning best-seller, Beloved--Toni Morrison moves to even higher ground. This, her eagerly awaited new novel, Jazz, is spellbinding for the haunting passion of its profound love story, and for the bittersweet lyricism and refined sensuality of its powerful and elegant style.

It is winter, barely three days into 1926, seven years after Armistice; we are in the scintillating City, around Lenox Avenue, "when all the wars are over and there will never be another one...At last, at last, everything's ahead...Here comes the new. Look out. There goes the sad stuff. The bad stuff. The things-nobody-could-help stuff." But amid the euphoric decisiveness, a tragedy ensues among people who had train-danced into the City, from points south and west, in search of promise.

Joe Trace--in his fifties, door-to-door salesman of Cleopatra beauty products, erstwhile devoted husband--shoots to death his lover of three months, impetuous, eighteen-year-old Dorcas ("Everything was like a picture show to her"). At the funeral, his determined, hard-working wife, Violet, herself a hairdresser--who is given to stumbling into dark mental cracks, and who talks mostly to birds--tries with a knife to disfigure the corpse.

In a dazzling act of jazz-like improvisation, moving seamlessly in and out of past, present, and future, a mysterious voice--whose identity is a matter of each reader's imagination--weaves this brilliant fiction, at the same time showing how its
blues are informed by the brutal exigencies of slavery. Richly combining history, legend, reminiscence, this voice captures as never before the ineffable mood, the complex humanity, of black urban life at a moment in our century we assumed we understood.

Jazz is an unprecedented and astonishing invention, a landmark on the American literary landscape--a novel unforgettable and for all time.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; Reprint edition (June 8, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1400076218
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1400076215
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 980L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.18 x 0.72 x 7.99 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,437 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,437 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book interesting and enjoyable. They praise the skillful prose and well-crafted story. The love story is thought-provoking and expressed in a powerful way. Many consider it worth the price and time. Readers appreciate the rhythm of the book and the well-developed characters. However, some find the storyline difficult to follow due to missing parts.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

37 customers mention "Readability"37 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and informative. They say it's a must-read for Morrison fans and provides a realistic portrayal of African-American life in the 1920s. Readers enjoy the simple story and find it insightful and a pleasure to read.

"...This book alternates points of view as if it is one long stream of consciousness and travels between time just as quickly...." Read more

"...This being said, I found this novel to be a great pleasure, a story that's simple enough about a middle-aged married black couple The Traces in &..." Read more

"...Overall a very interesting book, and it made 1920s Harlem (both the good and bad) come alive. Interested to read Paradise next." Read more

"...Overall this is a good novel, but you may find some of the author's other works a bit more compelling, such as The Bluest Eye, A Mercy, Sula and..." Read more

36 customers mention "Writing quality"30 positive6 negative

Customers appreciate the book's writing quality. They find the prose skillful, the story well-crafted, and the narration interesting. The author uses figurative language to make the plot come alive.

"...Morrison’s prose is poetic, and she writes the way that jazz feels...." Read more

"...It's not a difficult read, nor is it difficult to follow if you've read any of her before or read Hemmingway, Faulkner or Kerouac for that matter...." Read more

"...The way the narrator told the story was very interesting, because it adopted the tone of different people...." Read more

"...Toni Morrison's, skillful prose gives the novel a cultural richness and vitality that resonates with the reader...." Read more

9 customers mention "Love story"9 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the love story. They find it thought-provoking and passionate, expressed through jazz music. The themes of love, infidelity, passion, violence, community, and empathy are explored. Readers describe the book as a tale of purgatory and jazz.

"...There’s much to be said about love, grief, and generational trauma as well...." Read more

"...It examines the themes of love, infidelity, passion, violence, community, and racial identity in post slavery America...." Read more

"...of Jazz is that every character, no matter how lonely, is completely in love, in one way or another. And love is what redeems them. Of course." Read more

"...But she makes these people vivid and sympathetic, She never is sentimental or didactic...." Read more

6 customers mention "Value for money"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book worthwhile. They say it's worth the price, effort, and time.

"...Terrible but worth the risk, because there is no other thing to do, although, being seventeen, you do it. Study, work, memorize...." Read more

"...This is a book that needs a second reading to fully understand it. But worth it. Its like a puzzle." Read more

"The introduction alone(by Boni Morrison!) is worth the price of the book!" Read more

"...Worth the effort and the time." Read more

5 customers mention "Rhythm"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the rhythm of the book. They say it's expressive and musical, with a harmonious buildup to the main story.

"...Her writing style allows the novel to have the same flow, cadence and rhythm of jazz music...." Read more

"One of the greatest books of all time. She connects the rhythm of jazz with the pulse of the country in a masterful way...." Read more

"...at the same time are clearly connected to the main story, all while harmoniously and slowly building to the climax of the plot. Beautiful." Read more

"...Her voice on the audio version is expressive and musical." Read more

4 customers mention "Character development"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the well-developed characters. However, some find them overly developed. The book explores different characters and stories at the same time.

"...These characters are real. They're flawed, and they're you and me. You know good writing states something that will always be true...." Read more

"This is a really great book, the way all the characters lives are intertwined is amazing...." Read more

"...it goes up and down from different characters, delving into different stories which at the same time are clearly connected to the main story, all..." Read more

"...The characters were well developed I must say but perhaps overly developed as I did not care for many of them of which she chose to write..." Read more

4 customers mention "Voice"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the author's voice. They find it expressive, musical, and authentic. The narrative resonates with readers.

"...prose gives the novel a cultural richness and vitality that resonates with the reader...." Read more

"Toni Morrison was the voice of generations, the poet of a disenfranchised people, the conscience of the privileged ...." Read more

"...download novel is read by the author, which gives it a very authentic voice to the narrative. I love audible!" Read more

"...Her voice on the audio version is expressive and musical." Read more

9 customers mention "Difficulty to follow"0 positive9 negative

Customers find the book difficult to follow due to missing parts. They also say the storyline is hard to understand, boring, and underappreciated. Some readers feel the ending is awkward.

"...It was good but sometimes it was boring and a drag" Read more

"This book was not easy to follow. I even tried listening to the audio book to see if maybe I was misinterpreting the narrative, but no." Read more

"unsatisfied. Missing paragraphs at the time. Some of it is important to story line. I have to pause and read what is missing...." Read more

"...It was also bland, predictable, and uninspiring and ended awkwardly...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2023
    This is my second time reading this book, with several years between, and I like it more as I’ve aged. While this book is short, it’s better to pace yourself as you read. I encourage the paperback because the pages are thick and that adds to the experience, causing you to take your time turning the page.

    Morrison’s prose is poetic, and she writes the way that jazz feels. This book alternates points of view as if it is one long stream of consciousness and travels between time just as quickly. Many passages I had to read over again as I did not grasp it the first time. There’s much to be said about love, grief, and generational trauma as well.

    Morrison has a talent for weaving together the stories and lives of her characters— in some ways I felt I was reading several short stories, and in others I was reading one long poem.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2003
    After having read this novel I can't believe all the negative reviews, most people claiming that the novel was too hard or difficult to follow. I've read 4 of Morrison's books (The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Sula and Beloved) and I'll have to say that enjoyed this one amensely and I pretty much read over a span of three days. It's not a difficult read, nor is it difficult to follow if you've read any of her before or read Hemmingway, Faulkner or Kerouac for that matter. On a second reading of any of Morrison's novels, you always come away with something new, as with any quality piece of literature. So I really don't buy into this idea that Morrison's novels, this one in particular are difficult to read.
    This being said, I found this novel to be a great pleasure, a story that's simple enough about a middle-aged married black couple The Traces in "the City" during 1920's the husband Joe Trace has a fling with a young girl named Dorcas Manfred whom he later kills in the middle of party though the girl's Aunt/Guardian doesn't press charges and the wife Violet "Violent" Trace tries to disfigure the dead girl in the casket at her funeral. That's basically it without giving away the novel. There is an almost sensual use of language here that tells the stories behind the story that is common in Morrison's novels that gives Jazz that particular kind of flavor that distinguishes it from Morrison's other works and makes this novel more than a pleasure to read. I highly recommend it!
    29 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2015
    While this is in a trilogy with Beloved, it's thematically related and not connected by plot. Due to my enjoyment of Beloved, I decided to check out this book.

    Just like in Beloved, Morrison starts off by describing an event of egregious violence and then proceeds to flesh out the lives of the characters and illuminates what drove them to commit the act. While Beloved is about the abundance of motherly love, this is about the abundance of romantic love. The characters of Joe and Violet end up killing and mutilating a seventeen year old girl, all in the name of jealousy and love.

    As the book progresses Morrison shows what happened to their marriage and what drove the characters to make the choices that resulted in the death of Dorcas. The way the narrator told the story was very interesting, because it adopted the tone of different people. Sometimes the narrator was speaking as a neighbor, a shop keeper, a friend, or The City itself. I especially enjoyed the ending section where Morrison herself narrates directly to the reader. Throughout the book I really got a sense of the 1920s Harlem society where the story happened. The language of the book evoked a Jazz arrangement with different character's voices coming out over the undertones of the narrator, almost like a solo. I loved how different sections referred back to other sections, and different scenes gradually fleshed out the entire events.

    What i found most interesting about this book was the theme of how racism and slavery divided families and destroyed black American society, which resulted in intraracial violence. I also liked how near the end when Joe was out looking for Dorcas it mixed with an early account of him looking for his Mother in the woods of Virginia showing how his disjointed family created his search for a woman to have an affair with and his inherent anger at her leaving him.

    Overall a very interesting book, and it made 1920s Harlem (both the good and bad) come alive. Interested to read Paradise next.
    9 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2014
    An entertaining read. The book chronicles the lives of Joe Trace, his wife Violet, and the possibility of salvaging their marriage, in the aftermath of the murder of his mistress. It examines the themes of love, infidelity, passion, violence, community, and racial identity in post slavery America. The novel also speaks to the exodus of black folks from the south, as they made their way up north to Harlem in the early 1900s, in search of a better way of life. It looks at how they interact, survive and thrive, in spite of their circumstances.

    Toni Morrison's, skillful prose gives the novel a cultural richness and vitality that resonates with the reader. Her writing style allows the novel to have the same flow, cadence and rhythm of jazz music. This is also appropriate, since the plot is largely centered on Harlem, in a era where jazz music was becoming increasingly popular, and formed the backdrop against which the people lived their lives.

    Overall this is a good novel, but you may find some of the author's other works a bit more compelling, such as The Bluest Eye, A Mercy, Sula and Beloved.
    9 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2024
    The writing is excellent!

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • CKT
    5.0 out of 5 stars Toni Morrison, Queen of Literature
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 16, 2021
    I compared this book with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ for A-Level English Literature coursework. It was a really enjoyable read, I love the Modernist inspirations in the free indirect style. It is also beautiful to finally have books that centre the black community of Harlem in the 1920s, since poc have typically been marginalised by the dominance of white, male voices in literature. The depth and wit of this short novel is fantastic, I couldn’t recommend it more highly. I think this book is massively underrated (it is definitely on par with Morrison’s more famous works).
  • Anmol T.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely astonishing.
    Reviewed in India on June 6, 2020
    Breathtaking, witty and just sumptuous in its language. I laughed, cried and smiled throughout. Ms Morrison is incomparable. A league of her own.
  • Cliente Amazon
    4.0 out of 5 stars Muy bueno
    Reviewed in Spain on August 4, 2019
    Me ha gustado mucho la historia. El papel es de dudosa calidad
  • destinazione_libro (Pagina Instagram)
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully written and moving
    Reviewed in Italy on February 9, 2013
    Written by Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison, "Jazz" is just like the music it tries to imitate: it goes up and down, backwards and forwards, taking the reader through the myths and the lives of at least three generations of Black Americans, each one with his/her own amazing story, starting with their meaningful names. And just like jazz, this novel never stops taking the reader aback, spinning a web of intricated relationships and meanings, defying him/her to guess its tune before it starts another one.
  • Avv. I. Iov.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Gradito
    Reviewed in Italy on July 28, 2021
    Gradito