Jazz (novel)
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.jpg) First edition cover | |
| Author | Toni Morrison |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf Inc. |
| Publication date | April 21, 1992[1] |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 256[1] |
| ISBN | 0-679-41167-4 |
| Preceded by | Beloved |
| Followed by | Paradise |
Jazz is a 1992 historical novel by Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning American author Toni Morrison. The majority of the narrative takes place in Harlem during the 1920s; however, as the pasts of the various characters are explored, the narrative extends back to the mid-19th-century American South.
The novel forms the second part of Morrison's trilogy on African-American history, beginning with Beloved (1987) and ending with Paradise (1998). Jazz was Morrison’s most recently published work when she was awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Background
[edit]Morrison spent three years researching and reading historical records of the Harlem Renaissance such as "issues of every 'Colored' newspaper" for the year 1926.[2]
Characters
[edit]- Joe Trace, a door-to-door cosmetics salesman and the murderer of his young lover.
- Violet Trace, an unlicensed beautician. Violet is married to Joe. She is nicknamed "Violent" because she assaulted the corpse of Joe’s lover with a knife at the funeral.
- Dorcas, Joe's young lover, who is shot down at a party. Dorcas is inspired by a picture from The Harlem Book of the Dead, a collection of funeral photographs by James Van Der Zee.[2]
- Alice Manfred, Dorcas's aunt and guardian. A conservative Christian ashamed by her niece's behavior. Alice enters into an unusual friendship with Violet.
- Felice, a friend of Dorcas who goes to the Trace household in search of answers.
- Golden Gray, a mixed-race man from the 19th century. Golden appears in both Joe's and Violet's histories.
Critical reception
[edit]A year after the release of Jazz Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The official press release states that in the novel, "Morrison uses a device which is akin to the way jazz itself is played… The result is a richly complex, sensuously conveyed image of the events, the characters and moods."[3]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "JAZZ". Kirkus Reviews. February 15, 1992.
- 1 2 Bradley, Adam (October 25, 2022). "Eight Works to Take in After or Alongside Toni Morrison's 'Jazz'". New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
- ↑ "The Nobel Prize in Literature 1993". The Nobel Prize. October 7, 1993. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
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