'A landmark appraisal... deep and enriching' GUARDIAN
'An exhilarating meeting of critical minds' OBSERVER
'Serpell is a superlative essayist' DIANA EVANS
'Serpell brings her expertise and eye to Toni Morrion's singular literary genius' HARPER'S BAZAAR

The essential companion to Toni Morrison’s work, written by Namwali Serpell, ‘one of the most innovative and intelligent writers today’ (Financial Times)

Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate and most beloved of writers, has inspired generations of readers. But her artistic genius is often overshadowed by her monumental public persona, perhaps because, as Namwali Serpell puts it, ‘she is our only truly canonical black, female writer – and her work is highly complex.’ In On Morrison, Serpell brings her unique experience as both an award-winning writer and professor to illuminate Toni Morrison’s masterful experiments with literary form.

This is Morrison as you’ve never encountered her before, a journey through her vivid fiction and criticism, as well as her lesser-known dramatic works and poetry – with contextual guidance and original close readings. Accessible and thrillingly rigorous, On Morrison is a primer not only on how to read one of the most significant American authors of our time, but how to approach any great work of literature. The conversation between the two black women artist-readers that rises from these pages is stylish, edifying and spectacular in its scope and erudition.

‘[Serpell has] hopped on a rocket and touched the Tonisphere, with her mind... Serpell’s excitement, her sense of discovery and dismay, become yours’ NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
'Breathtaking, provocative, and refreshing' IMANI PERRY

"Deep and enriching.... I have waited years for this book.... Serpell has managed to deliver a book that works on many levels: as a study of craft, as a critical appraisal, and as a tribute to an artist who was difficult in all the right ways" - Guardian

"I did not expect reading this learned work of literary criticism to be some of the most fun I've had this year" - Observer

"[Serpell has] hopped on a rocket and touched the Tonisphere, with her mind... Serpell's excitement, her sense of discovery and dismay, become yours" - NYTBR

"Serpell brings her expertise and eye to Toni Morrison’s singular literary genius. Maybe you’ve memorised The Bluest Eye, Sula or Morrison’s essays by heart, or you’ve decided to revisit an author you were first introduced to in school. Either way, this work will deepen your understanding of and appreciation for one of the greatest writers and editors of the 20th century" - Harper's Bazaar

"Informed, accessible literary analysis" - Wall Street Journal

"Serpell examines Toni Morrison’s oeuvre with the rigor of an academic and the admiration of a fellow creative... refreshingly jargon-free and accessible to most readers of Morrison’s novels and essays" - Los Angeles Times

"Her reading of Morrison is thick: layered with frameworks and a sophisticated ability to render critical inquiry legible" - Guardian

"Serpell’s deep but clear investigation of Morrison’s literary genius is one of the best primers to an author’s oeuvre I’ve ever read" - Esquire

"An impressive, nuanced work of scholarship" - Kirkus, starred review