We've got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest)
(8) Snow Line
We're going to be honest with you: Listening to jazz isn't easy, and reading Jazz isn't a whole lot easier. Why? Well, remember that jazz is a musical form that basically took a sledgehammer to what music before it was supposed to be. It took all those simple melodies and that sing-along style and predictability and blew them to smithereens.
It also combined stuff from the European musical tradition with African musical traditions (think: improvisation and blue notes). In other words, it basically put different musical traditions in a blender, pushed 'puree,' and out came something really awesome and different.
And because Morrison was inspired by jazz composition in her writing, this novel is similarly awesome and different. We have different characters speaking at different times, a weird anonymous narrator who seems to know everything about everyone, passages that border on stream-of-consciousness, and a plot that jumps back and forth over decades without giving you a heads-up.
But you're never lost for long, and the plot is so rich with sex, violence, music, intrigue, and Morrison's amazing language, that any occasional re-readings of chapters or "Hey, who's talking now?" thoughts are well worth it.
And hey—it's no harder than listening to most John Coltrane. And just as brilliant.