Today, I finished Toni Morrison's new book, A Mercy. It was classic Morrison. A neo-slave narrative set in the late 1600's, it is a story about a young slave named Florens who can't get past her mother's abandonment and forms unhealthy attachments because of it. I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone reading, but it's a beautiful and painful story (as are all the true stories).
My favorite line comes from the end of the novel when Florens' mother (who gave her away to protect her), thinking of her, whispers to the wind some advice: "In the dust where my heart will remain each night and every day until you understand what I know and long to tell you: to be given dominion over another is a hard thing; to wrest dominion over another is a wrong thing; to give dominion of yourself to another is a wicked thing."
I want to teach this book when I get the next opportunity.
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