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The Bluest Eye (1970)

During a difficult and lonely time in her life, Morrison began working on her first novel, The Bluest Eye, which was published in 1970. Containing several autobiographical elements, this novel explores the damage that internalized racism can do to the most vulnerable member of a community—a young girl.

Sula (1973)

Sula is Morrison’s second novel, published in 1973. It deals with themes of race, womanhood, the effects of history, and the contingencies of love, examining how all four intertwine to affect the beliefs and actions of individuals.

Song of Solomon (1977)

Winning the National Critics Circle Award and the Letters Award in 1978, this novel contributed to Morrison’s meteoric rise as an acclaimed author. Morrison draws on her own life as rich source material for the characters in Song of Solomon, centering almost all of the action within an African-American world, drawing on its vitality for inspiration.

Beloved (1987)

This novel, widely considered to be Morrison’s best work, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. Beloved straddles the line between fiction and history; from the experiences of a single family, Morrison creates a powerful commentary on the psychological and historical legacy of slavery.

Jazz (1992)

Like Morrison’s other works, Jazz draws from a specific historical moment, the Harlem Renaissance, and seeks to embody the culture and feeling of the era. While Morrison objects to the term "magic realism" when applied to her work, novels such as Jazz reflect a distinctive mix of fantasy and reality and a blurring of internal and external worlds.

Previous section Historical Context: Exploring Identities Through the Lenses of Race, Culture, and Politics

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