You can come full circle with your reading again.

In 1993, when I was in my early twenties, I read Toni Morrison’s “Jazz,” a decision that unexpectedly set me on a course away from becoming a fan of her novels. Re-reading this over thirty years later, I realize I hadn’t yet developed enough as a fiction reader to fully grasp Morrison’s intricate style, which demands the reader ascend to her level of understanding.

Jazz tells the story of Joe Trace and his wife Violet in 1920s Harlem. Joe murders his teenage lover, Dorcas, and as the reader you are taken a journey on why it happened through the novel. Morrison uses jazz music as a theme and stylistic way of telling the story. Upon my initial reading in 1993, the narrative struck me as cyclical. This time, however, I interpreted it more as Morrison’s non-linear narrative, becoming invested in understanding Joe Trace’s motivations for committing murder.

Morrison’s prose and word choice are dynamic in the story. For example, this sentence from the midpoint of the novel:

Violet learned then what she had forgotten until this moment: that laughter is serious. More complicated, more serious than tears.

A stunning sentence and a truth about the multidimensional nature of laughter. Morrison captures it authentically in an important point of the novel.

I have been revisiting Morrison’s fiction this year after reading the biography, Toni at Random, by Dana A. Williams and listening to the On Morrison podcast by author and professor, Namwali Serpell. The biography and podcast have caused me to reexamine my relationship to one of America’s greatest authors, and I’m glad that I have taken this reader journey to discover that she has become one of my favorite writers. Morrison makes you work as a reader and trust her storytelling skills implicitly. Gene Wolfe is the only other author I’ve encountered in my reading journey who challenges you in the same way as a reader.

Jazz falls behind Sula is my second favorite novel of Morrison’s novels that I have read. It does not get mentioned as much as her more famous works like Beloved, The Bluest Eye or Song of Solomon. But Jazz captures 1920s Harlem authentically and reveals a complicated love triangle unlike anything I have read in contemporary literary fiction.