Book summary

In Toni Morrison's powerful 1977 novel, Milkman Dead hears a strange story: his father and his aunt Pilate witnessed their father's murder, and Pilate has carried his bones around with her for 20 years. Milkman travels south to find that this grandfather (who fled slavery and escaped, creating a myth of flight) has been immortalized in folktales and songs. He and Pilate bury his bones at last, and Milkman is made free and powerful by his newfound connection to his ancestors. Winner of the 1978 National Book Critics Award.

Media reviews

"A long story...and better than good. Toni Morrison has earned attention and praise. Few Americans know, and can say, more than she has in this wise and spacious novel."