Jazz

In Morrison’s exhilarating novel, Joe and Violet move from the Virginia countryside to Harlem at the turn of the century, young and in love. Twenty years later, Joe’s interactions with a young woman set off a series of violent events and unforgivable acts. Peeling back layers and alternating perspectives expose ultimately sympathetic characters, who—like the growing New York neighborhood and the winding woods of their youth—reveal their own rhythms.