I finished this book 2 days ago and have been thinking about what to write about it, and I'm coming up empty. I don't think I fully "got" it, and I didn't find it nearly as compelling as almost every other work of Morrison's I've read. It started very slowly for me, and even once it became a bit more engaging, I just couldn't find that I cared about any of the people or relationships depicted in it.

Morrison's usual themes of male-female, female-female, black-white, black-black relationships in all their complexity were present, as was her incredible prose. The characters, though, remained inscrutable to me, and some of her narrative choices prevented me from fully sinking into the story.

All that said, I'm not sorry I read it, as there is always something worthwhile in reading Morrison. I would rate this at the lower end of the spectrum of her novels (along with God Help the Child).

3.5 stars ( )

Trods modstand fra sin kone, Margaret, har Valerian Street gennemført sit forehavende: Han har pensioneret sig selv fra rollen som administrerende direktør for den slikfabrik, der i årtier har sikret familien rigdom og en behagelig tilværelse i Philadelphia. Nu bor han året rundt i sin tidligere sommerresidens på en privat ø i Caribien.

Margaret rejser frem og tilbage mellem byen og øen, og nu hvor julen står for døren, er hun kommet derned, ikke for Valerians skyld men fordi hun håber på, at deres søn langt om længe vil komme hjem til jul fra hans selvvalgte eksil som idealistisk antropolog i Californien. Familiens sorte tjenestefolk, Sydney og Ondine, er også flyttet med til øen, hvor Sydney er den stilfulde butler, mens Ondine passer køkkenet. På besøg er også deres niece Jadine, der – sponsoreret af Valerian – er blevet kandidat fra Sorbonne og en eftertragtet model.

Forholdet mellem tjenestefolk og herskab er på overfladen familiært og venskabeligt. Valerian har sørget for pension og uddannelse til Jadine, og han tager roligt imod Sydneys råd/drillerier om stort og småt, men det skal snart vise sig, at ligheden kun er tilsyneladende. En aften dukker endnu en sort mand op i familiens hjem. Son er amerikaner og på flugt fra sin egen fortid og mere konkret fra det skib, som han har arbejdet på indtil han svømmede i land. Det viser sig, at han har listet sig rundt i huset i flere dage og tilbragt nætterne med at betragte Jadines sovende skikkelse.

Romanen kunne være endt der, hvis Son var blevet behandlet som andre indbrudstyve og overgivet til politiet, men efter en pludselig indskydelse til at genere Margaret gør Valerian noget helt andet: Han inviterer Son inden for og installerer ham på eget værelse og i lånt pyjamas. Kvinderne protesterer højlydt, men det er Valerian, der bestemmer, og med den nye person i huset bryder den skrøbelige orden sammen. Gamle modsætninger mellem sort og hvid, rig og fattig og sort og sort kommer op til overfladen. Son og Jadine drages, meget mod hendes vilje, mod hinanden, og under julemiddagen vælter skeletterne ud af skabet.

Bogen udfolder en kompliceret familiehistorie, hvor det ikke er overraskende, at det skrøbelige ægteskab mellem Valerian og Margaret kommer under pres, for de har ligget i krig i årevis, men det gør relationerne mellem Sydney, Ondine og Jadine også, da hun vælger Son og sit eget liv over deres forventninger. Bogen udfolder det amerikanske samfunds racistiske strukturer, men den viser også, hvordan spørgsmål om race filtres sammen med spørgsmål om magt og klasse – uden at det går ud over persontegningen eller fortællingen. ( )

En la paradisíaca isla del Caribe, Valerian y Margaret viven un una espléndida mansión y disfrutan de una existencia idílica. Sin embargo, todo cambiará con la llegada a la isla de Son, un náufrago negro de dudosas intenciones que se siente atraído por la bella Jadine, sobrina adoptiva de la pareja. Desde este momento, la isla se verá sacudida por una oscura y creciente pasión que hará tambalear todos los cimientos de la convivencia, obligando a hombres y mujeres a enfrentarse a ese yo secreto que todos solemos vestir con nuestras mejores mentiras.

In 1983, Toni Morrison explained in an interview with Tom LeClair that a tar baby was a Black woman who held things together. Merriam Webster defines a tar baby as something from which it is nearly impossible to extricate oneself. It also notes that it is sometimes offensive. It is definitely offensive when used to refer to a Black person.

As in most good literature, the title Tar Baby is multilayered and significant for many reasons. Some view Ondine, the Black cook for the Street family, as the tar baby since she held two families and a household together: the Street family, consisting of Valerian, his wife Margaret, and their son Michael, and Ondine, her husband Sidney, and their niece Jadine. Others believe that Son, the intruder who becomes Jadine's lover, was the tar baby of the title. Still, others thought Jadine, who seemed figuratively stuck in tar, educated by a white man, and alienated from her culture, was the title's tar baby. One might also use "tar baby" to describe how "stuck" some characters are in their social classes or societal roles.

The setting for the novel is primarily the fictitious Caribbean Isle des Chevaliers (Island of Horsemen) in the 1970s, where there is a noticeable caste system. The obvious class divisions are between Blacks and Whites, especially since the White Street family employs Black servants. But the more subtle class systems are those within Black and White cultures. Morrison explores race, class, and family structures in an engaging story that delves into male/female roles and the value of education.

Stereotypes and prejudices run rampant in the text. The plight of Blacks in the United States and on the island provides many plot points in this carefully constructed story. Significantly, some Black characters are addressed by their functions or nicknames rather than their names. Since Jadine, the educated Black protagonist, uses this terminology, her traitorous nature is exposed. It is also essential to consider the upbringing and self-improvement efforts of the characters as Morrison introduces us to people in New York City and Florida. While reading about intelligence and its relationship to "street smarts," one wonders which is most beneficial to survival in different circumstances.

Other themes and concepts included in the novel and worth pondering are the acceptance of sexual assault by some characters and the role of beauty and betrayal in relationships. The images of worldliness and lowliness being perceived differently among the main characters are thought-provoking. This work is probably one of the lesser-known of Toni Morrison's. It is truly worth reading and reflecting on some of the timeless topics. ( )

Excellent, complex and beautiful. ( )