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Recitatif
In this 1983 short story—the only short story Morrison ever wrote—we meet Twyla and Roberta, who have known each other since they were eight years old and spent four months together as roommates in St. Bonaventure shelter. Inseparable then, they lose touch as they grow older, only later to find each other again at a diner, a grocery store, and again at a protest. Seemingly at opposite ends of every problem, and at each other's throats each time they meet, the two women still cannot deny the deep bond their shared experience has forged between them.
Another work of genius by this masterly writer, Recitatif keeps Twyla's and Roberta's races ambiguous throughout the story. Morrison herself described Recitatif , a story which will keep readers thinking and discussing for years to come, as "an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial." We know that one is white and one is Black, but which is which? And who is right about the race of the woman the girls tormented at the orphanage?
A remarkable look into what keeps us together and what keeps us apart, and how perceptions are made tangible by reality, Recitatif is a gift to readers in these changing times.
Another work of genius by this masterly writer, Recitatif keeps Twyla's and Roberta's races ambiguous throughout the story. Morrison herself described Recitatif , a story which will keep readers thinking and discussing for years to come, as "an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial." We know that one is white and one is Black, but which is which? And who is right about the race of the woman the girls tormented at the orphanage?
A remarkable look into what keeps us together and what keeps us apart, and how perceptions are made tangible by reality, Recitatif is a gift to readers in these changing times.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
About the author
Toni Morrison
212 books20.2k followersToni Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford) was an American author, editor, and professor who won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature for being an author "who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality."
Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed African American characters; among the best known are her novels The Bluest Eye , Song of Solomon , and Beloved , which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988. In 2001 she was named one of "The 30 Most Powerful Women in America" by Ladies' Home Journal.
Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed African American characters; among the best known are her novels The Bluest Eye , Song of Solomon , and Beloved , which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988. In 2001 she was named one of "The 30 Most Powerful Women in America" by Ladies' Home Journal.
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July 28, 2022
REREAD (FEB 2022): Decided to reread this short story because it has now been published for the first time in book form (it was available online before).
When my gorgeous hardback edition arrived I saw that it had a 40-page long (!) introduction by none other than Zadie Smith analysing Morrison's story and dissecting its meaning for our lives. Thoroughly enjoyed Zadie's take on "Recitatif" and how she analysed the function Maggie plays in the story. (She's the key figure who signifies the past!)
The story was just as amazing to read the second time around. Lots of new things to discover – and many of which I had forgotten in the year since I read it for the firs time. Morrison is a master story teller.
Like Zadie Smith says in her introduction, "Recitatif" will give you "The Lottery" vibes. This short story never fails to make a chill run down my spine. It's a haunting (cautionary) tale of what happens when we tend to block out the past and not work through our shared complicated, often painful, histories and memories with each other – and it applies to individuals and nations both.
Update: Fuck it, I'm raising the rating to five stars. I'm still all up in my feelings about this story.
ORIGINAL REVIEW (DEC 2020):
Last week, I explained in a video why I'm scared to dive into Toni Morrison's fiction. Even though she is a literary icon, and basically a must-read for every Black woman who grew up in the West, I was hesitant going into her work. Even though I've heard (almost) nothing but wonderful things, I was also sure that her work could be emotionally very exhausting and sometimes even triggering to read. From my understanding, a lot of her books, especially the popular ones, deal with heavy issues such as trauma, sexual assault and slavery.
I felt quite overwhelmed by the amount of positive feedback that I got. So many people went out of their way to recommend me some of Toni's books that would be safe for me to read. I cannot thank all these people enough because they have erased many of the fears and apprehensions that I had, so that I'm sure that'll start reading Toni's novels in 2021. As of right now, I think I'll start with Song of Solomon and if I end up liking it, give Sula a go as well. Beloved is a novel that is high on my list as well but I know that I need to be in the right head space for it to not take a toll on my mental health.
Today, another viewer made me aware of the fact that Toni Morrison only ever published one (!) short story during her lifetime – "Recitatif". They warmly recommended this short story to me as it also dealt with (comparatively) "safe" topics. I thought it would be a nice idea to read this short story (which is available online, if you're interested) as I knew that I wouldn't have the time to read a full-length novel by Toni this year, but a quick short story would satisfy my curiosity until next year!
And daaamn, this story truly hit hard. This is exactly the type of short story that I love reading. I need my short stories to be quick, smart, clever and leave enough room for interpretation, and most importantly, an engaging subject matter that gets readers talking and analysing. All of that was combined in "Recitatif", so I couldn't be more happy.
At its core it is the story of two girls, Twyla and Roberta, whose lives intertwine at various moments in time. The story is told within 20 pages and showcases five encounters that these two girls/women have with each other. They first meet at a state home, where they are forced to share a room. After some initial prejudices (because of being from "a whole other race"), the girls become friends. After four months together, Roberta leaves the orphanages and the girls loose touch. By chance, they encounter each other four more times and each time they attempt to revisit and adjust their memories of their shared past.
There are many things that are extremely clever about "Recitatif". Most notably, of course, is the fact that Toni Morrison deliberately left the race of the girls open. The reader isn't told which girl is Black, and which is white. Therefore, as a reader you are constantly searching for cues that might give it up. But Toni being Toni, she makes it impossible to decide, as the cues (and clues) are conflicting and inconsistent, and also reveal our own prejudices (e.g. the notion that the girl who grew up in poor circumstances is more likely to be the Black girl etc.).
What I found particular brilliant about this story is the fact that the reader becomes so preoccupied with wanting to find out which girl is Black and which is white, that the true meaning of the story and the most important character (Maggie) move to the background. And in leading her readers on in this way, Toni hammers down the point that she wanted to make all along. We are so preoccupied with the "race question", that we don't focus on what actually happened to Maggie.
Maggie truly functions as the scapegoat and represents how the unappealing elements of history are actively marginalized. She also remains parenthetical within the main story of the protagonists. In a paper it was pointed out how "she symbolised the silent truth imbedded within the parenthetical narratives of America's racialized history and how she provides a common ground for the protagonists to explore their conflicting memories of a shared history."
Maggie was a disabled woman who worked at the orphanage. She was often bullied by the girls who stayed there, Twyla and Roberta included, because she was "mute", "deaf", and seen as a "Dummy". One time, the bullying got out of hand and the girls kicked her down and physically hurt her [it remains open whether Roberta and Twyla partook in that harassment]. What happened to Maggie was awful. The way she was treated was horrible. And her race shouldn't matter. Whether Maggie is Black or white, shouldn't alter the scope of the sympathy we feel for her.
At the end of the day, it doesn't matter which of the girls is Black and which is white. It's funny how the girls are preoccupied with Maggie's race during their discussion of the repressed childhood event (Roberta first claims that Maggie was Black, whilst Twyla thought of her as white, at the end, they both were unsure). It's funny because they mirror exactly what the reader has been doing to them all along whilst reading the story. Toni Morrison shows us our own ridiculousness. Our sympathies for these characters, especially for Maggie, shouldn't hinge on their race. Maggie moves readers to see past the divisive quality of the obvious binaries and invites the reader to take a closer look at the “space in between”.
With "Recitatif", Toni Morrison challenges us readers to take a good look at ourselves and our own racial stereotypes, and why we often feel the need to rely on racial codes to make sense of narratives. She wants the readers' active participation, not only to examine their own assumptions about racial stereotypes but also to rethink how race has shaped their memories.
In her interesting collection of lectures, Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination, Morrison describes that she saw "Recitatif" as "an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial". Furthermore, she writes: "Neither blackness nor "people of color" stimulates in me notions of excessive, limitless love, anarchy, or routine dread. I cannot rely on these metaphorical shortcuts because I am a black writer struggling with and through a language that can powerfully evoke and enforce hidden signs of racial superiority, cultural hegemony, and dismissive “othering” of people and language which are by no means marginal or already and completely known and knowable in my work. My vulnerability would lie in romanticizing blackness rather than demonizing it; vilifying whiteness rather than reifying it. The kind of work I have always wanted to do requires me to learn how to maneuver ways to free up the language from its sometimes sinister, frequently lazy, almost always predictable employment of racially informed and determined chains."
What I love about "Recitatif" is that it truly challenged me as a reader, how my perception of characters shifts, once race comes into play, albeit their actions remain 100% the same. Super fascinating and very effective because you literally feel like being part of the experiment when reading this short story. "Recitatif" is a story that truly made me think (literally made me think outside of the box) and it is therefore a story that will stay with me for a long time.
When my gorgeous hardback edition arrived I saw that it had a 40-page long (!) introduction by none other than Zadie Smith analysing Morrison's story and dissecting its meaning for our lives. Thoroughly enjoyed Zadie's take on "Recitatif" and how she analysed the function Maggie plays in the story. (She's the key figure who signifies the past!)
The story was just as amazing to read the second time around. Lots of new things to discover – and many of which I had forgotten in the year since I read it for the firs time. Morrison is a master story teller.
Like Zadie Smith says in her introduction, "Recitatif" will give you "The Lottery" vibes. This short story never fails to make a chill run down my spine. It's a haunting (cautionary) tale of what happens when we tend to block out the past and not work through our shared complicated, often painful, histories and memories with each other – and it applies to individuals and nations both.
Update: Fuck it, I'm raising the rating to five stars. I'm still all up in my feelings about this story.
ORIGINAL REVIEW (DEC 2020):
Last week, I explained in a video why I'm scared to dive into Toni Morrison's fiction. Even though she is a literary icon, and basically a must-read for every Black woman who grew up in the West, I was hesitant going into her work. Even though I've heard (almost) nothing but wonderful things, I was also sure that her work could be emotionally very exhausting and sometimes even triggering to read. From my understanding, a lot of her books, especially the popular ones, deal with heavy issues such as trauma, sexual assault and slavery.
I felt quite overwhelmed by the amount of positive feedback that I got. So many people went out of their way to recommend me some of Toni's books that would be safe for me to read. I cannot thank all these people enough because they have erased many of the fears and apprehensions that I had, so that I'm sure that'll start reading Toni's novels in 2021. As of right now, I think I'll start with Song of Solomon and if I end up liking it, give Sula a go as well. Beloved is a novel that is high on my list as well but I know that I need to be in the right head space for it to not take a toll on my mental health.
Today, another viewer made me aware of the fact that Toni Morrison only ever published one (!) short story during her lifetime – "Recitatif". They warmly recommended this short story to me as it also dealt with (comparatively) "safe" topics. I thought it would be a nice idea to read this short story (which is available online, if you're interested) as I knew that I wouldn't have the time to read a full-length novel by Toni this year, but a quick short story would satisfy my curiosity until next year!
And daaamn, this story truly hit hard. This is exactly the type of short story that I love reading. I need my short stories to be quick, smart, clever and leave enough room for interpretation, and most importantly, an engaging subject matter that gets readers talking and analysing. All of that was combined in "Recitatif", so I couldn't be more happy.
At its core it is the story of two girls, Twyla and Roberta, whose lives intertwine at various moments in time. The story is told within 20 pages and showcases five encounters that these two girls/women have with each other. They first meet at a state home, where they are forced to share a room. After some initial prejudices (because of being from "a whole other race"), the girls become friends. After four months together, Roberta leaves the orphanages and the girls loose touch. By chance, they encounter each other four more times and each time they attempt to revisit and adjust their memories of their shared past.
There are many things that are extremely clever about "Recitatif". Most notably, of course, is the fact that Toni Morrison deliberately left the race of the girls open. The reader isn't told which girl is Black, and which is white. Therefore, as a reader you are constantly searching for cues that might give it up. But Toni being Toni, she makes it impossible to decide, as the cues (and clues) are conflicting and inconsistent, and also reveal our own prejudices (e.g. the notion that the girl who grew up in poor circumstances is more likely to be the Black girl etc.).
What I found particular brilliant about this story is the fact that the reader becomes so preoccupied with wanting to find out which girl is Black and which is white, that the true meaning of the story and the most important character (Maggie) move to the background. And in leading her readers on in this way, Toni hammers down the point that she wanted to make all along. We are so preoccupied with the "race question", that we don't focus on what actually happened to Maggie.
Maggie truly functions as the scapegoat and represents how the unappealing elements of history are actively marginalized. She also remains parenthetical within the main story of the protagonists. In a paper it was pointed out how "she symbolised the silent truth imbedded within the parenthetical narratives of America's racialized history and how she provides a common ground for the protagonists to explore their conflicting memories of a shared history."
Maggie was a disabled woman who worked at the orphanage. She was often bullied by the girls who stayed there, Twyla and Roberta included, because she was "mute", "deaf", and seen as a "Dummy". One time, the bullying got out of hand and the girls kicked her down and physically hurt her [it remains open whether Roberta and Twyla partook in that harassment]. What happened to Maggie was awful. The way she was treated was horrible. And her race shouldn't matter. Whether Maggie is Black or white, shouldn't alter the scope of the sympathy we feel for her.
At the end of the day, it doesn't matter which of the girls is Black and which is white. It's funny how the girls are preoccupied with Maggie's race during their discussion of the repressed childhood event (Roberta first claims that Maggie was Black, whilst Twyla thought of her as white, at the end, they both were unsure). It's funny because they mirror exactly what the reader has been doing to them all along whilst reading the story. Toni Morrison shows us our own ridiculousness. Our sympathies for these characters, especially for Maggie, shouldn't hinge on their race. Maggie moves readers to see past the divisive quality of the obvious binaries and invites the reader to take a closer look at the “space in between”.
With "Recitatif", Toni Morrison challenges us readers to take a good look at ourselves and our own racial stereotypes, and why we often feel the need to rely on racial codes to make sense of narratives. She wants the readers' active participation, not only to examine their own assumptions about racial stereotypes but also to rethink how race has shaped their memories.
In her interesting collection of lectures, Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination, Morrison describes that she saw "Recitatif" as "an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial". Furthermore, she writes: "Neither blackness nor "people of color" stimulates in me notions of excessive, limitless love, anarchy, or routine dread. I cannot rely on these metaphorical shortcuts because I am a black writer struggling with and through a language that can powerfully evoke and enforce hidden signs of racial superiority, cultural hegemony, and dismissive “othering” of people and language which are by no means marginal or already and completely known and knowable in my work. My vulnerability would lie in romanticizing blackness rather than demonizing it; vilifying whiteness rather than reifying it. The kind of work I have always wanted to do requires me to learn how to maneuver ways to free up the language from its sometimes sinister, frequently lazy, almost always predictable employment of racially informed and determined chains."
What I love about "Recitatif" is that it truly challenged me as a reader, how my perception of characters shifts, once race comes into play, albeit their actions remain 100% the same. Super fascinating and very effective because you literally feel like being part of the experiment when reading this short story. "Recitatif" is a story that truly made me think (literally made me think outside of the box) and it is therefore a story that will stay with me for a long time.
March 28, 2023
Recitatif is a suggestive, powerful and deceivingly simple short story that offers the reader a richly filled dish with food for thought. Toni Morrison hands over some sharp ammunition to question one’s own assumptions and innate biases which seem hard to avoid in the struggle to make sense of the world and comprehend one’s place in society. We seem to need clues, social codes and categories to navigate in the world. The social need to feel part of a whole or a group to know who we are, not to lose ourselves in the amorphousness of the masses collective is a strong one – the flipside of such need to belong however that clinging to collective identity creates a dynamic of insiders versus outsiders and can capsize into cognitive distortion, leading to a generalisation and categorisation and ultimately labelling of people, making one overlook what binds and connects rather than divides, possibly opening a road to cruelty.
Twyla and Roberta encounter each other as roommates in a children’s home at the age of eight. Unlike the other children, they are not orphans but end up in t-Bonny’s for four months because their mothers cannot adequately take care of them: one girl’s mother dances all night, the other girl’s mother is sick. One of them is black. One of them is white. Does it matter? One of them will thrive and live in luxury, one of them will struggle to make ends meet. Later in life they coincidentally will bump into each other again a couple of times, unable to bridge the widening gap between them as the differences between them become as visible as the different colour of their skin. Yet their bond from the past yields common ground, rooted in their shared experience of being disposed of as children and being haunted by a faltering memory of how and why they (mis)treated Maggie, mute and mocked by everyone – and what they both attempt to forget.
Toni Morrison masterfully conveys how black and white, dichotomous thinking comes in many different shapes and forms, whether related to the colour of the skin, social class or physical (dis)ability. The experiences of Twyla and Roberta show how differences and similarities can both divide as well as unite because social life consists in a dynamic and complex interplay implying the unending and unpredictable shift of power, collective identities and changing affinities, change the only constant we know.
Twyla and Roberta encounter each other as roommates in a children’s home at the age of eight. Unlike the other children, they are not orphans but end up in t-Bonny’s for four months because their mothers cannot adequately take care of them: one girl’s mother dances all night, the other girl’s mother is sick. One of them is black. One of them is white. Does it matter? One of them will thrive and live in luxury, one of them will struggle to make ends meet. Later in life they coincidentally will bump into each other again a couple of times, unable to bridge the widening gap between them as the differences between them become as visible as the different colour of their skin. Yet their bond from the past yields common ground, rooted in their shared experience of being disposed of as children and being haunted by a faltering memory of how and why they (mis)treated Maggie, mute and mocked by everyone – and what they both attempt to forget.
Toni Morrison masterfully conveys how black and white, dichotomous thinking comes in many different shapes and forms, whether related to the colour of the skin, social class or physical (dis)ability. The experiences of Twyla and Roberta show how differences and similarities can both divide as well as unite because social life consists in a dynamic and complex interplay implying the unending and unpredictable shift of power, collective identities and changing affinities, change the only constant we know.
April 12, 2024
this is so short and so perfect.
every single word in this short story is well chosen, and these characters, who we only know for a few pages, are completely unforgettable.
no on-page exploration of race, or of integration, or of institutionalization, or of social causes exists within it, and yet, in spite of that and its brevity, fully formed thoughts about all of it hit you like a punch.
my only problem with it was wanting more and more.
bottom line: i could spend the rest of my life only reading toni morrison and be content.
4.5
every single word in this short story is well chosen, and these characters, who we only know for a few pages, are completely unforgettable.
no on-page exploration of race, or of integration, or of institutionalization, or of social causes exists within it, and yet, in spite of that and its brevity, fully formed thoughts about all of it hit you like a punch.
my only problem with it was wanting more and more.
bottom line: i could spend the rest of my life only reading toni morrison and be content.
4.5
November 18, 2022
“My mother danced all night and Roberta’s was sick."
Twyla and Roberta, both eight years old, find themselves wards of the State and placed at St. Bonaventure (St. Bonny’s as it is more commonly referred to by the children). They spend four months together as roommates and slowly become friends keeping each other company and looking out for each other in the classroom, the lunchroom and in the orchard where the senior girls like to tease and bully the younger ones. We are told that the population at the orphanage /shelter is racially diverse but what separates these two girls from the rest is not their race (one of them is black and the other white) but the fact that unlike the other children they are not orphans but have been “dumped” and thus the other children tend to ignore them. The author leaves their racial identities ambiguous alluding to the fact that they belong to different races indirectly (“salt and pepper” as they are referred to by the other children, or the fact that Twyla claims that her mother would not approve of her being assigned the same room as Roberta). Twyla ( who is also our narrator) is the first to leave after four months and they lose touch but encounter each other multiple times over the next few decades, each of these interactions markedly different from the ease of their childhood fondness for each other. They are adults now, socially conditioned and conscious of their differences – race, class and social status and thus they are distant, somewhat on different sides – a demarcation that becomes obvious when they find themselves protesting on different sides on the issue of integration of the school Twyla’s son is being bussed to.
One character that is referred to from their childhood is that of Maggie, employed in the kitchen of St Bonaventure who we are told was mute and also on the receiving end of a lot of ridicule and insults from the older girls .
“Maggie fell down there once. The kitchen woman with legs like parentheses.”
At approximately 20 pages this is a fast but powerful narrative that delves into the psyche of not just the two main characters as they find themselves in a world characterized by racism, prejudice and discrimination but also forces the readers to take stock of their personal preconceived notions and assumptions about the characteristics they attribute to ‘others’ (from the most simple things like food habits and clothes to life choices and views on education and general worldview). Our focus is directed to the differences while failing to acknowledge the similarities that we possess as human beings.
In the author’s own words, this story was “an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial”. The author’s test subjects are not the characters in the story but us- the readers, and we play into her hands very easily. The narrative is constructed in such a manner so as to compel the reader to continuously ponder over the racial identities of Twyla and Roberta. Our focus is continuously directed to the hints throughout the narrative and we rely on our perceptions and interpretations in trying to figure out which race each of these two girls belongs so much so that we relegate an episode of gross injustice towards another character in the narrative to the background, preoccupied with our own quest rather than giving due diligence to an issue that deserves our attention- as do Twyla and Roberta.
Recitatif is a short but impactful experience and though it was written in the 1980s, it is as relevant today as it was as then. Zadie Smith’s introductory essay is brilliant though I would recommend reading the story before the introduction. The introduction is an analysis of the story enriched with a discussion on Ms. Morrison’s thoughts on race and racial identity which is important reading but better read if it follows the story. Emotional and thought-provoking, it is impossible to read this short story and not engage in moments of soul searching and introspection. Reading Toni Morrison will do that to you!
Twyla and Roberta, both eight years old, find themselves wards of the State and placed at St. Bonaventure (St. Bonny’s as it is more commonly referred to by the children). They spend four months together as roommates and slowly become friends keeping each other company and looking out for each other in the classroom, the lunchroom and in the orchard where the senior girls like to tease and bully the younger ones. We are told that the population at the orphanage /shelter is racially diverse but what separates these two girls from the rest is not their race (one of them is black and the other white) but the fact that unlike the other children they are not orphans but have been “dumped” and thus the other children tend to ignore them. The author leaves their racial identities ambiguous alluding to the fact that they belong to different races indirectly (“salt and pepper” as they are referred to by the other children, or the fact that Twyla claims that her mother would not approve of her being assigned the same room as Roberta). Twyla ( who is also our narrator) is the first to leave after four months and they lose touch but encounter each other multiple times over the next few decades, each of these interactions markedly different from the ease of their childhood fondness for each other. They are adults now, socially conditioned and conscious of their differences – race, class and social status and thus they are distant, somewhat on different sides – a demarcation that becomes obvious when they find themselves protesting on different sides on the issue of integration of the school Twyla’s son is being bussed to.
One character that is referred to from their childhood is that of Maggie, employed in the kitchen of St Bonaventure who we are told was mute and also on the receiving end of a lot of ridicule and insults from the older girls .
“Maggie fell down there once. The kitchen woman with legs like parentheses.”
At approximately 20 pages this is a fast but powerful narrative that delves into the psyche of not just the two main characters as they find themselves in a world characterized by racism, prejudice and discrimination but also forces the readers to take stock of their personal preconceived notions and assumptions about the characteristics they attribute to ‘others’ (from the most simple things like food habits and clothes to life choices and views on education and general worldview). Our focus is directed to the differences while failing to acknowledge the similarities that we possess as human beings.
In the author’s own words, this story was “an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial”. The author’s test subjects are not the characters in the story but us- the readers, and we play into her hands very easily. The narrative is constructed in such a manner so as to compel the reader to continuously ponder over the racial identities of Twyla and Roberta. Our focus is continuously directed to the hints throughout the narrative and we rely on our perceptions and interpretations in trying to figure out which race each of these two girls belongs so much so that we relegate an episode of gross injustice towards another character in the narrative to the background, preoccupied with our own quest rather than giving due diligence to an issue that deserves our attention- as do Twyla and Roberta.
Recitatif is a short but impactful experience and though it was written in the 1980s, it is as relevant today as it was as then. Zadie Smith’s introductory essay is brilliant though I would recommend reading the story before the introduction. The introduction is an analysis of the story enriched with a discussion on Ms. Morrison’s thoughts on race and racial identity which is important reading but better read if it follows the story. Emotional and thought-provoking, it is impossible to read this short story and not engage in moments of soul searching and introspection. Reading Toni Morrison will do that to you!
February 7, 2022
A short story that will keep you wondering the whole time about these two young girls, one black, one white, as they grow up and meet in various times in their lives. Which one is black? Which one is white? Up to the reader to decide, but I don’t get the feeling Morrison wanted us to. It’s thought provoking as I expected a story by Toni Morrison would be. It’s stunning.
Thanks to my friend Patty whose review made me aware of it. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Note: I read a stand-alone version of this story available on the internet.
Thanks to my friend Patty whose review made me aware of it. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Note: I read a stand-alone version of this story available on the internet.
February 6, 2022
Recitatif
is a short story about two women, one Black, the other white, who cross paths several times over the years. The twist: their races are not revealed; it’s left up to the reader’s interpretation which character is Black and which is white. This is not a ‘colour blind’ story though—race is in fact crucial to the characters and their understanding of the world.
If this story had been written by anyone else, I would have been sceptical. A cheap gimmick? A thought experiment best left to English Lit classrooms? But this is Toni Morrison, stone cold genius, and this story is as potent and nuanced today as when she wrote it 40 years ago.
Morrison wrongfoots the reader at every turn. While you are wondering about Twyla and Roberta (who is Black and who is white? is there a right answer? does it actually matter?), and wondering what your wondering says about your own biases, a third character creeps in unnoticed and turns this story on its head, bursts your little balloon of cleverness, and throws out an allegory of historical revisionism for good measure.
Be sure to read Zadie Smith’s excellent introduction (which is longer than the story itself!) afterwards, which expands on Morrison’s own stated position that race can be at once fictive, a social construct, while also being central to identity. Both real and unreal. A paradox that this story manages not just to convey but to occupy.
If this story had been written by anyone else, I would have been sceptical. A cheap gimmick? A thought experiment best left to English Lit classrooms? But this is Toni Morrison, stone cold genius, and this story is as potent and nuanced today as when she wrote it 40 years ago.
Morrison wrongfoots the reader at every turn. While you are wondering about Twyla and Roberta (who is Black and who is white? is there a right answer? does it actually matter?), and wondering what your wondering says about your own biases, a third character creeps in unnoticed and turns this story on its head, bursts your little balloon of cleverness, and throws out an allegory of historical revisionism for good measure.
Be sure to read Zadie Smith’s excellent introduction (which is longer than the story itself!) afterwards, which expands on Morrison’s own stated position that race can be at once fictive, a social construct, while also being central to identity. Both real and unreal. A paradox that this story manages not just to convey but to occupy.
February 12, 2023
4.5 stars
Racial identity, traumas of the past, human cruelty, the illusive nature of stereotypes, and the power of voice are the central themes that underscore Morrison's narrative.
The author plays with stereotypes concerning race and class by showing that very often they simply do not work.
This short story was meant as “an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial.”
We follow two girls, Twyla and Roberta. We are told that they come from different races. The girls look "like salt and pepper."
The author, however, never tells us which is which. Clues about their race can be found throughout the story, but all of them leave the reader confused and lead to an impasse. There is always something more important than social constructs, such as race, ethnicity, or class. What humans feel, what they expect from each other, how they treat each other, and their ability to express themselves.
Recitatif details a few encounters between Roberta and Twyla.
First, they met as eight-year-old girls when they were sent to the orphanage by their mothers.
During their last meeting, the two women are able to discuss the traumatic experience they had at the orphanage. Children can be cruel to those who are the most vulnerable.
This childhood memory binds them together. They have been trying to bury themselves from thinking of it. But that memory continues to trouble the main characters even after many years. Reflecting on that unhappy event may help them finally overcome it.
Racial identity, traumas of the past, human cruelty, the illusive nature of stereotypes, and the power of voice are the central themes that underscore Morrison's narrative.
The author plays with stereotypes concerning race and class by showing that very often they simply do not work.
This short story was meant as “an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial.”
We follow two girls, Twyla and Roberta. We are told that they come from different races. The girls look "like salt and pepper."
The author, however, never tells us which is which. Clues about their race can be found throughout the story, but all of them leave the reader confused and lead to an impasse. There is always something more important than social constructs, such as race, ethnicity, or class. What humans feel, what they expect from each other, how they treat each other, and their ability to express themselves.
Recitatif details a few encounters between Roberta and Twyla.
First, they met as eight-year-old girls when they were sent to the orphanage by their mothers.
During their last meeting, the two women are able to discuss the traumatic experience they had at the orphanage. Children can be cruel to those who are the most vulnerable.
This childhood memory binds them together. They have been trying to bury themselves from thinking of it. But that memory continues to trouble the main characters even after many years. Reflecting on that unhappy event may help them finally overcome it.
March 22, 2022
I don't normally read short stories but I borrowed Recitatif thinking it was a novella. When I realized it was just a short story, I was already drawn in.
It's the only short story Toni Morrison wrote and that alone is enough of a reason to read it. It is 43 pages and introduced by an intelligent analysis by Zadie Smith, which is another 43 pages.
The story is captivating but I won't say anything about it. I wish the introductory analysis had been at the end of the book because I would have had a totally different experience had I read it afterwards.
I would like to have compared my thoughts and reaction to the story to Ms. Smith's but instead I was influenced by what she wrote and her words were in my mind the entire time I was reading the story.
If you decide to read Recitatif, read the introduction last. I would skip the blurb too if you haven't already read it.
It's a thought-provoking story and well worth the hour or so it takes to read. It would make a wonderful book club selection with plenty to discuss within this short volume.
I am hesitant to say more. Toni Morrison's fans will not want to miss this one, short story or not.
It's the only short story Toni Morrison wrote and that alone is enough of a reason to read it. It is 43 pages and introduced by an intelligent analysis by Zadie Smith, which is another 43 pages.
The story is captivating but I won't say anything about it. I wish the introductory analysis had been at the end of the book because I would have had a totally different experience had I read it afterwards.
I would like to have compared my thoughts and reaction to the story to Ms. Smith's but instead I was influenced by what she wrote and her words were in my mind the entire time I was reading the story.
If you decide to read Recitatif, read the introduction last. I would skip the blurb too if you haven't already read it.
It's a thought-provoking story and well worth the hour or so it takes to read. It would make a wonderful book club selection with plenty to discuss within this short volume.
I am hesitant to say more. Toni Morrison's fans will not want to miss this one, short story or not.
September 11, 2020
There is just something so voyeuristically impressionable about a child’s perspective riddled with already formed prejudices passed down from their parents on the tips of their tongues that they don’t begin to even understand. As an undeniable truth lurches closer and closer to forefront, leeching itself on our consciences: that humans aren’t built to hate, they’re taught. These two young girls in particular, Twyla, the narrator, and her roommate Roberta have absentee mother figures, one who is always off dancing, which could be code for doing drugs or imbibing far too many drinks until she sways back and forth like a weary, spent dancer. Or she could be spending herself in others ways: as a prostitute. The other has a far different diagnosis and is said to be continually sick, so sick that it could be terminal.
The race of each of the girls is left to the imagination of our minds, in amorphous ambiguity. An imagination which runs rampant with analyzing every interaction between the girls who meet each other again and again after an incident in which a girl named Maggie is kicked, the memory of what actually happened to her corrupting with each new time it’s accessed. Their meetings unmistakably mirroring the tremulous ups and downs, sing-song staccatos, and rich choruses of song that repeats, yet it repeats with that lingering feeling of incident and leaves the relationship between the girls fraught and in a state of disparate disarray.
I found this story an interesting, exploratory commentary of how we’re socially conditioned to perceive, whether it be us, as readers, and how we try to decipher which girl is what race. And the characters themselves who go on their own journeys of starting in childhood in the same challenging place and then growing apart in different directions, which leaves one too proudly smug to acknowledge the history beating between her and her childhood roommate like a tantalizingly tangible heartbeat as rhythmic as the dance of steps these girls go through, which is resoundingly reminiscent of the title of this work, Reciatif , which breathes with bespoken meaning.
Additionally, as a culture, we’re forced to acknowledge race and identity because it is parts of ourselves we hold near and dear with an intimate closeness we work to foster. We are also in a world where the two can’t be arbitrary or go unacknowledged because of the historical and present weight they carry. We could live in a very different world, however, if we didn’t assign certain things the same meaning or if we had led an entirely different history with different ideas about what the world is and how it should be structured and run. Toni Morrison marries the strange with the familiar in this short story as we come to face the dizzying heights of not knowing completely who someone is, but deciding for ourselves who they could be, simultaneously freeing and endangering them by what we may choose.
The race of each of the girls is left to the imagination of our minds, in amorphous ambiguity. An imagination which runs rampant with analyzing every interaction between the girls who meet each other again and again after an incident in which a girl named Maggie is kicked, the memory of what actually happened to her corrupting with each new time it’s accessed. Their meetings unmistakably mirroring the tremulous ups and downs, sing-song staccatos, and rich choruses of song that repeats, yet it repeats with that lingering feeling of incident and leaves the relationship between the girls fraught and in a state of disparate disarray.
I found this story an interesting, exploratory commentary of how we’re socially conditioned to perceive, whether it be us, as readers, and how we try to decipher which girl is what race. And the characters themselves who go on their own journeys of starting in childhood in the same challenging place and then growing apart in different directions, which leaves one too proudly smug to acknowledge the history beating between her and her childhood roommate like a tantalizingly tangible heartbeat as rhythmic as the dance of steps these girls go through, which is resoundingly reminiscent of the title of this work, Reciatif , which breathes with bespoken meaning.
Additionally, as a culture, we’re forced to acknowledge race and identity because it is parts of ourselves we hold near and dear with an intimate closeness we work to foster. We are also in a world where the two can’t be arbitrary or go unacknowledged because of the historical and present weight they carry. We could live in a very different world, however, if we didn’t assign certain things the same meaning or if we had led an entirely different history with different ideas about what the world is and how it should be structured and run. Toni Morrison marries the strange with the familiar in this short story as we come to face the dizzying heights of not knowing completely who someone is, but deciding for ourselves who they could be, simultaneously freeing and endangering them by what we may choose.
May 26, 2022
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A skilful and incisive story by the masterful Toni Morrison Recitatif is the type of short story that seems made to be studied at school/college or discussed in a book club. The ambiguous nature of the central characters’ racial identities will lead readers to analyze every passage, trying to ‘find out’ the answers to a puzzle Morrison leaves intentionally unsolved. Our eagerness to understand this short story plays into Morrison’s social commentary. The reading experience of Recitatif is almost a prelude to the real story, the one that occurs outside of its borders, in which we study, examine, and argue, with others or with ourselves about the characters’ identities and the meaning behind Morrison’s choice not to reveal them to us. Long rambling short, this is the type of story that delivers more substance and depth once it’s actually over. Whereas I found the two full-length works that I have read by Morrison to be riveting and all-consuming, I found myself less immersed in Recitatif. I was more interested in the conception and execution of this idea than in the actual story. The story and characters, curiously enough, felt secondary to the literary device employed by Morrison. The alleged fraught friendship between these two women, one of them Black, the other white, pales in comparison to the fiercely complicated bond between Sula and Nel in Morrison’s Sula. We are given a glimpse into their childhood, where we learn they both have experienced some form of hardship and we later see them encountering one another as adults, except that they now find themselves on opposing sides.
Their complicity in the violence that other girls at the orphanage where they first met perpetrated against an older woman binds them together. While they both harbour guilt over this they disagree on whether the woman in question was Black or white. This will lead readers to wonder why that is. Which of them is right? And does that change anything? As I said, this is the type of story that is the ideal vehicle for generating discussions on race and racism in America. While I admired Morrison’s skill, I found that I was too aware of her presence in this story. That is, while with her novels her voice reeled me into her stories, here I felt more keenly her ‘hand’. As I was reading I knew that she was the architect behind the words on those pages.
Nevertheless, I’m glad that I read this as I did find this to be a thought-provoking short story. Zadie Smith’s introduction adds another dimension to the story and I highly recommend you do not give it a miss.
A skilful and incisive story by the masterful Toni Morrison Recitatif is the type of short story that seems made to be studied at school/college or discussed in a book club. The ambiguous nature of the central characters’ racial identities will lead readers to analyze every passage, trying to ‘find out’ the answers to a puzzle Morrison leaves intentionally unsolved. Our eagerness to understand this short story plays into Morrison’s social commentary. The reading experience of Recitatif is almost a prelude to the real story, the one that occurs outside of its borders, in which we study, examine, and argue, with others or with ourselves about the characters’ identities and the meaning behind Morrison’s choice not to reveal them to us. Long rambling short, this is the type of story that delivers more substance and depth once it’s actually over. Whereas I found the two full-length works that I have read by Morrison to be riveting and all-consuming, I found myself less immersed in Recitatif. I was more interested in the conception and execution of this idea than in the actual story. The story and characters, curiously enough, felt secondary to the literary device employed by Morrison. The alleged fraught friendship between these two women, one of them Black, the other white, pales in comparison to the fiercely complicated bond between Sula and Nel in Morrison’s Sula. We are given a glimpse into their childhood, where we learn they both have experienced some form of hardship and we later see them encountering one another as adults, except that they now find themselves on opposing sides.
Their complicity in the violence that other girls at the orphanage where they first met perpetrated against an older woman binds them together. While they both harbour guilt over this they disagree on whether the woman in question was Black or white. This will lead readers to wonder why that is. Which of them is right? And does that change anything? As I said, this is the type of story that is the ideal vehicle for generating discussions on race and racism in America. While I admired Morrison’s skill, I found that I was too aware of her presence in this story. That is, while with her novels her voice reeled me into her stories, here I felt more keenly her ‘hand’. As I was reading I knew that she was the architect behind the words on those pages.
Nevertheless, I’m glad that I read this as I did find this to be a thought-provoking short story. Zadie Smith’s introduction adds another dimension to the story and I highly recommend you do not give it a miss.
March 2, 2023
Morrison's only short story is an experiment on the reader: We have a Black and a white main character, but the point is that we never learn which one has which skin color, thus confronting the reader with their impulse to assign color according to context clues - a mission doomed to fail. Our narrator Twyla first meets Roberta in a state home for children when they are eight; Twyla's mother is neglectful while Roberta's religious mother is sick. Both kids are outsiders due to their familial situation and because they fail at school, but the institution has a woman working in the kitchen with even lower status than them, and she gets attacked - and Twyla's as well as Roberta's memories differ and shift regarding the context of the incident, their involvement, and Maggie's skin color.
Regarding the Maggie mystery, the protagonists are put in a similar situation to that of the readers, and this narrative tool is employed to ponder questions of class, status, and power(lessness). As they grow up, Twyla and Roberta meet again and again, being put in different living situations and later also on different ends of the income spectrum. The short text is certainly clever and well-constructed, but of course, it is always apparent what Morrison aims to do here (that Zadie Smith gets to add an essay to explain what happens the same length of the actual story is a little silly, tbh - it's not that complicated, especially compared to other Morrison texts like Beloved, e.g.).
A smart short story that dares readers to question according to what and how they categorize people - and why they think they have the right to do so in the first place.
Regarding the Maggie mystery, the protagonists are put in a similar situation to that of the readers, and this narrative tool is employed to ponder questions of class, status, and power(lessness). As they grow up, Twyla and Roberta meet again and again, being put in different living situations and later also on different ends of the income spectrum. The short text is certainly clever and well-constructed, but of course, it is always apparent what Morrison aims to do here (that Zadie Smith gets to add an essay to explain what happens the same length of the actual story is a little silly, tbh - it's not that complicated, especially compared to other Morrison texts like Beloved, e.g.).
A smart short story that dares readers to question according to what and how they categorize people - and why they think they have the right to do so in the first place.
March 29, 2024
[4.5⭐] 𝙇𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙨 𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙨 (𝙪𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙤) es un relato de ficción escrito por Toni Morrison, ganadora del Premio Nobel de Literatura. Se trata de un experimento social para ver los prejuicios raciales de sus lectores.
La historia se centra en dos niñas que son obligadas a compartir una habitación en un centro de acogida, pero se van dando cuenta de que tienen más elementos en común de lo que ellas creen. Con el paso del tiempo, se irán encontrando en distintos lugares, aunque siempre en lados opuestos en los temas sociales.
Morrison juega con su público y nos plantea un experimento en donde acabamos sacando bastantes conclusiones.
Considero una genialidad de parte de la autora el haber construido este relato. Se nota la sutileza que emplea para poder confundir a sus lectores. Además, hay que destacar el gran manejo que tiene del lenguaje porque siempre se encuentra al límite para dejarnos con muchas dudas tras la carencia de descripciones que hay, es demasiado ambigua.
Es una muy interesante reflexión sobre la amistad, el racismo y los prejuicios que existen en la sociedad. No quiero ahondar más en el tema porque siento que les arruinaría por completo la gracia de este libro.
Además, recomiendo encarecidamente que lean el epílogo de Zadie Smith que está al final del libro. Tiene reflexiones muy acertadas sobre el relato y la sociedad en la que vivimos.
Finalmente, puedo decir que he quedado encantada con esta experiencia lectora. Puede que el relato sea corto, pero te deja pensando durante mucho tiempo. Te invita al camino de la reflexión y considero que es un aporte para poder crecer como individuos.
La historia se centra en dos niñas que son obligadas a compartir una habitación en un centro de acogida, pero se van dando cuenta de que tienen más elementos en común de lo que ellas creen. Con el paso del tiempo, se irán encontrando en distintos lugares, aunque siempre en lados opuestos en los temas sociales.
Morrison juega con su público y nos plantea un experimento en donde acabamos sacando bastantes conclusiones.
Considero una genialidad de parte de la autora el haber construido este relato. Se nota la sutileza que emplea para poder confundir a sus lectores. Además, hay que destacar el gran manejo que tiene del lenguaje porque siempre se encuentra al límite para dejarnos con muchas dudas tras la carencia de descripciones que hay, es demasiado ambigua.
Es una muy interesante reflexión sobre la amistad, el racismo y los prejuicios que existen en la sociedad. No quiero ahondar más en el tema porque siento que les arruinaría por completo la gracia de este libro.
Además, recomiendo encarecidamente que lean el epílogo de Zadie Smith que está al final del libro. Tiene reflexiones muy acertadas sobre el relato y la sociedad en la que vivimos.
Finalmente, puedo decir que he quedado encantada con esta experiencia lectora. Puede que el relato sea corto, pero te deja pensando durante mucho tiempo. Te invita al camino de la reflexión y considero que es un aporte para poder crecer como individuos.
December 30, 2022
“ Recitatif” challenges one’s senses and perceptions by blurring the context clues that define race and identity. In a brief short story, Toni Morrison forces the reader to look inward to examine assumptions about belonging, bias, collective associations and social behavior codes.
The story portrays an interracial relationship between two girls.Twyla and Roberta spend four months in a shelter when they are eight years old. The encounter at this facility is the first of five meetings they would have in their lives, spanning childhood to adulthood. One of the girls is black. The other is white. One can not determine the race of either child by assessing their actions, cultural cues, speech dialect, verbal cadence or spoken opinions. Toni Morrison, in effect, has deracinated the touchstones of race and the accompanying stereotypes. The result is a type of social tabula rasa that prompts introspection and examination of the factors that make an individual unique while still adhering to an identification with a larger socially or racially defined entity.
The story, narrated by Twyla, is cleverly developed. Racial cues are evident throughout the plot but these are intermixed between Twyla and Roberta, preventing any racial identification. The girls’ lives intersect at critical moments in American social debate and touch on issues of foster care, access to employment, retail availability and educational opportunities. The relationship of poverty, class and race becomes evident as Twyla and Roberta interact in their encounters. Their interactions lead one to consider how to meld the positive aspects of one’s foundational roots into a larger societal whole that embraces diversity and minimizes strife.
The answers to these considerations are open ended and will vary with each reader’s experiences. Toni Morrison has called this story an”experiment”. I heartily agree with that assessment and might include the adjective utopian in the description. This story was originally published in 1980.I wonder how this story might have been framed forty years later when the landscape of American minorities has become more diverse and the concept of entitlement has become more strident and contentious.
Zadie Smith has written an excellent foreword to this story that might be more usefully read after concluding the story. Miss Smith perceptively notes that America has a shared history of racial strife and that New Year’s Day is the only racially uncontested American holiday. At the same time, she reminds us that confronting the past will ultimately allow society to move forward. I concur with her assessment and will note that this short story still has intellectual heft forty years after its publication and provides an important lens that contributes to an understanding of the human condition.
The story portrays an interracial relationship between two girls.Twyla and Roberta spend four months in a shelter when they are eight years old. The encounter at this facility is the first of five meetings they would have in their lives, spanning childhood to adulthood. One of the girls is black. The other is white. One can not determine the race of either child by assessing their actions, cultural cues, speech dialect, verbal cadence or spoken opinions. Toni Morrison, in effect, has deracinated the touchstones of race and the accompanying stereotypes. The result is a type of social tabula rasa that prompts introspection and examination of the factors that make an individual unique while still adhering to an identification with a larger socially or racially defined entity.
The story, narrated by Twyla, is cleverly developed. Racial cues are evident throughout the plot but these are intermixed between Twyla and Roberta, preventing any racial identification. The girls’ lives intersect at critical moments in American social debate and touch on issues of foster care, access to employment, retail availability and educational opportunities. The relationship of poverty, class and race becomes evident as Twyla and Roberta interact in their encounters. Their interactions lead one to consider how to meld the positive aspects of one’s foundational roots into a larger societal whole that embraces diversity and minimizes strife.
The answers to these considerations are open ended and will vary with each reader’s experiences. Toni Morrison has called this story an”experiment”. I heartily agree with that assessment and might include the adjective utopian in the description. This story was originally published in 1980.I wonder how this story might have been framed forty years later when the landscape of American minorities has become more diverse and the concept of entitlement has become more strident and contentious.
Zadie Smith has written an excellent foreword to this story that might be more usefully read after concluding the story. Miss Smith perceptively notes that America has a shared history of racial strife and that New Year’s Day is the only racially uncontested American holiday. At the same time, she reminds us that confronting the past will ultimately allow society to move forward. I concur with her assessment and will note that this short story still has intellectual heft forty years after its publication and provides an important lens that contributes to an understanding of the human condition.
February 11, 2022
5★
“We didn't like each other all that much at first, but nobody else wanted to play with us because we weren't real orphans with beautiful dead parents in the sky. We were dumped.”
This is the only short story Toni Morrison wrote, apparently. I did read a ‘story’ by her in ‘The New Yorker’ last year, but it seems to have been an extract from another work. This is a thought-provoking look at race and class and prejudice.
The “we” who didn’t like each other are two girls who meet at a children’s home when they’re only eight years old. They are there because their mothers can’t look after them.
“‘Twyla, this is Roberta. Roberta, this is Twyla. Make each other welcome.’
I said, ‘My mother won't like you putting me in here.’
Twyla is narrating and says Roberta asked why she was there.
“‘Is your mother sick too?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘She just likes to dance all night.’
‘Oh,’ she nodded her head and I liked the way she understood things so fast. So for the moment it didn't matter that we looked like salt and pepper standing there and that's what the other kids called us sometimes. We were eight years old and got F's all the time.”
That’s the very beginning of their story. Morrison takes them through attitude changes and life changes, and except for that early remark, she leaves it to us to figure out who is Salt and who is Pepper.
This is short, but it’s a real test of whatever pre-conceived ideas you may not even know you have. English novelist Zadie Smith has written an excellent article about it where she discusses the meaning of the title and the issues the story raises.
Link to article by Zadie Smith
I recommend you read Recitatif first. It has been published before, included in other books, and I happened to find it online. I see Knopf has just published it as a standalone in a longer book with an introduction by Zadie Smith. It’s a good one for your Morrison collection.
It would be a terrific choice for book clubs and study groups. She won both the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
“We didn't like each other all that much at first, but nobody else wanted to play with us because we weren't real orphans with beautiful dead parents in the sky. We were dumped.”
This is the only short story Toni Morrison wrote, apparently. I did read a ‘story’ by her in ‘The New Yorker’ last year, but it seems to have been an extract from another work. This is a thought-provoking look at race and class and prejudice.
The “we” who didn’t like each other are two girls who meet at a children’s home when they’re only eight years old. They are there because their mothers can’t look after them.
“‘Twyla, this is Roberta. Roberta, this is Twyla. Make each other welcome.’
I said, ‘My mother won't like you putting me in here.’
Twyla is narrating and says Roberta asked why she was there.
“‘Is your mother sick too?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘She just likes to dance all night.’
‘Oh,’ she nodded her head and I liked the way she understood things so fast. So for the moment it didn't matter that we looked like salt and pepper standing there and that's what the other kids called us sometimes. We were eight years old and got F's all the time.”
That’s the very beginning of their story. Morrison takes them through attitude changes and life changes, and except for that early remark, she leaves it to us to figure out who is Salt and who is Pepper.
This is short, but it’s a real test of whatever pre-conceived ideas you may not even know you have. English novelist Zadie Smith has written an excellent article about it where she discusses the meaning of the title and the issues the story raises.
Link to article by Zadie Smith
I recommend you read Recitatif first. It has been published before, included in other books, and I happened to find it online. I see Knopf has just published it as a standalone in a longer book with an introduction by Zadie Smith. It’s a good one for your Morrison collection.
It would be a terrific choice for book clubs and study groups. She won both the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
April 22, 2022
4.5, rounded up.
I'm embarrassed to say this is the first Morrison I've read, but the recent stand-alone reissue of this, her only short story, intrigued me, so I took the plunge - even though I am NOT a fan of the short story format. This 'experiment' is well-worth the less than an hour it takes to read, and Smith's introduction - which should be an afterword, which is how I read it - illuminates the story and would seem to be well-nigh essential. In that, she posits that most white readers think of the narrator, Twyla, as white and the other main character, Roberta, as black - and black readers most often feel the opposite - but the intriguing element is that one goes back and forth and back again, depending upon how one reads the various cues. Also, having recently read Passing, this makes an intriguing counterpoint - and I would encourage any reader to read them back-to-back.
I'm embarrassed to say this is the first Morrison I've read, but the recent stand-alone reissue of this, her only short story, intrigued me, so I took the plunge - even though I am NOT a fan of the short story format. This 'experiment' is well-worth the less than an hour it takes to read, and Smith's introduction - which should be an afterword, which is how I read it - illuminates the story and would seem to be well-nigh essential. In that, she posits that most white readers think of the narrator, Twyla, as white and the other main character, Roberta, as black - and black readers most often feel the opposite - but the intriguing element is that one goes back and forth and back again, depending upon how one reads the various cues. Also, having recently read Passing, this makes an intriguing counterpoint - and I would encourage any reader to read them back-to-back.
May 27, 2022
Lots to unpack here! Definitely read the short story and then go back and read Zadie Smith's introduction. I might even re-read the short story portion after having read Smith's commentary! She is very insightful.
I love what Morrison is doing here. A sort of experiment where the reader never knows the racial identity of either of the characters—but we do know one is black and one is white.
Twyla and Roberta lived together for a short while when they were 8 years old in a children's home—Twyla, because her mother 'danced all night' and Roberta, because her mother was sick. Eventually they part ways, but over the years they run into each other again and again, and we see these vignettes in their life and how they've grown and changed, but also how they interact on a social and political level. Their shared history, however, is something they cannot reject, as much as they may want to reject the labels, and the effects of those labels, that are put on them by society.
It's easy to want to parse out which character is black and which is white, and I suspect readers may be very split based on their own biases and life experiences. But Morrison doesn't want you to waste your time trying to decipher the 'puzzle' but instead observe, consider, re-consider, and interrogate your own perceptions.
I loved what Zadie Smith said about a shared history must be acknowledged before it can be examined. How can we move forward if we don't see eye to eye on where we've been? This is just one of the many themes in this excellent, clever, and arresting short story from Morrison.
I love what Morrison is doing here. A sort of experiment where the reader never knows the racial identity of either of the characters—but we do know one is black and one is white.
Twyla and Roberta lived together for a short while when they were 8 years old in a children's home—Twyla, because her mother 'danced all night' and Roberta, because her mother was sick. Eventually they part ways, but over the years they run into each other again and again, and we see these vignettes in their life and how they've grown and changed, but also how they interact on a social and political level. Their shared history, however, is something they cannot reject, as much as they may want to reject the labels, and the effects of those labels, that are put on them by society.
It's easy to want to parse out which character is black and which is white, and I suspect readers may be very split based on their own biases and life experiences. But Morrison doesn't want you to waste your time trying to decipher the 'puzzle' but instead observe, consider, re-consider, and interrogate your own perceptions.
I loved what Zadie Smith said about a shared history must be acknowledged before it can be examined. How can we move forward if we don't see eye to eye on where we've been? This is just one of the many themes in this excellent, clever, and arresting short story from Morrison.
March 20, 2022
I think Twyla was Black.
June 12, 2024
Toni Morrison was a MASTER of her craft... I am endlessly flawed by her work.
This is undoubtedly the best short story I have ever read! Recitatif is a genius piece of fiction detailing assumptions placed upon race, how relationships shape our lives and how the past (when unresolved and heavy) can alter our future. Would highly highly recommend!
This is undoubtedly the best short story I have ever read! Recitatif is a genius piece of fiction detailing assumptions placed upon race, how relationships shape our lives and how the past (when unresolved and heavy) can alter our future. Would highly highly recommend!
February 7, 2024
personally, i think twyla was the black one simply because roberta couldn’t read and i feel that was too stereotypical for the black character to be the one that couldn’t read. I think making roberta black while not being able to read is too obvious and i don’t think anything about this book makes it easy for you to figure out which one is which, so for the author to have it that obvious doesn’t make sense to me. Also, i really enjoy the way the friendship was written in this book. for it to be so short it captures their friendship in a way most authors can’t do with 300+ pages.
February 14, 2022
This short story is brilliantly written! Two characters, Twyla and Roberta, one black, one white, but which is which? And what about Maggie? The reader is left to decide. At only 40 pages, this story really packs a punch. Highly recommended.
June 10, 2023
This is making the 2022 favorites shelf, because I can't stop thinking about it and have now re-listened to the audiobook like three times?
I really loved this. This is a shorty, but so thought-provoking. This short story serves as a bit of a thought experiment: At the start you find out that one of the two young girls at the center of this story is Black and one is white. Throughout this book you follow these two girls who spend a few months together at a shelter as children, and then when they meet over the course of the next 20 or so years. They both have slightly varied memories of their time in the shelter, different reasons for having been placed there in the first place, and different paths in life.
Toni Morrison is intentionally confusing in her characterizations of these girls. In a story where race is critical to the plot, you're left guessing as to which race each character is. As the reader, you must confront your own tendencies to attribute characteristics, life circumstances, vernacular, (you name it, really) to a specific race. It's also an intense example of the brain's desire to categorize things and people to simplify the world.
Beyond that, I found the character dynamics here and the conversation around memory and how it can be stored differently by different people to be captivating. This short book is worth its weight in gold. I just couldn't recommend this more highly. The audiobook was great and Zadie Smith's introduction was perfect.
I really loved this. This is a shorty, but so thought-provoking. This short story serves as a bit of a thought experiment: At the start you find out that one of the two young girls at the center of this story is Black and one is white. Throughout this book you follow these two girls who spend a few months together at a shelter as children, and then when they meet over the course of the next 20 or so years. They both have slightly varied memories of their time in the shelter, different reasons for having been placed there in the first place, and different paths in life.
Toni Morrison is intentionally confusing in her characterizations of these girls. In a story where race is critical to the plot, you're left guessing as to which race each character is. As the reader, you must confront your own tendencies to attribute characteristics, life circumstances, vernacular, (you name it, really) to a specific race. It's also an intense example of the brain's desire to categorize things and people to simplify the world.
Beyond that, I found the character dynamics here and the conversation around memory and how it can be stored differently by different people to be captivating. This short book is worth its weight in gold. I just couldn't recommend this more highly. The audiobook was great and Zadie Smith's introduction was perfect.
February 9, 2022
Toni Morrison played me.
She knew I'd make assumptions and wrote a story that knocked the wind from my lungs.
In this short story, where racial modifiers do not exist, Ms. Morrison expects us to go one way and shows the door to discoveries for which we weren't ready.
Do we place assumptions on race and class even when we think we're better than such notions? Yes.
I've been played, or did I play myself?
Thank you, Ms. Morrison, for the opportunity to continue learning.
5/5. Highly recommended!
She knew I'd make assumptions and wrote a story that knocked the wind from my lungs.
In this short story, where racial modifiers do not exist, Ms. Morrison expects us to go one way and shows the door to discoveries for which we weren't ready.
Do we place assumptions on race and class even when we think we're better than such notions? Yes.
I've been played, or did I play myself?
Thank you, Ms. Morrison, for the opportunity to continue learning.
5/5. Highly recommended!
October 29, 2022
I really liked this short story. My advice, don’t read the intro, especially not before you read the story. It’s gives too much away. Start with Toni. Always.
I loved the playing with race and stereotypes and history. Morrison is just top tier. Yes I have my thoughts on who was Black or white but I’ll leave that up to you.
I loved the playing with race and stereotypes and history. Morrison is just top tier. Yes I have my thoughts on who was Black or white but I’ll leave that up to you.
September 6, 2022
This short story is a potent reminder of what a loss Toni Morrison is not just to the literary world but to the world. With her usual mix of heart and head, she has penned an experimental story whose real point seems to be to force each reader to confront the extent to which, and how, they/we construct fictions of race in their/our heads. This would be playful, if it weren't so revealing. For she gives us two girls, one white, one Black - but the game is that she never tells us which is which. The story thus forces us to catch our own desire to allocate a race to Twyla and Roberta, and also to foreground the clichés that supposedly characterise race: is the 'dancer' mother Black or white? What about the sick mother?
I have to say that some of the racial codes are specifically American - I didn't understand the geographical implications of where people might live or the significance of 'bussing' (taking kids by bus to schools that are a distance from their homes) - is this to do with segregation?
There's a sleight of hand moment when the girls realise that a woman described as 'sand-coloured' who worked in their school, who was mute, is remembered by one as Black and the other as not. What she was, though, was abused - for being 'othered' by both girls and dehumanised.
This is only short but is an intriguing thought experiment that I immediately wanted to discuss with other readers.
I have to say that some of the racial codes are specifically American - I didn't understand the geographical implications of where people might live or the significance of 'bussing' (taking kids by bus to schools that are a distance from their homes) - is this to do with segregation?
There's a sleight of hand moment when the girls realise that a woman described as 'sand-coloured' who worked in their school, who was mute, is remembered by one as Black and the other as not. What she was, though, was abused - for being 'othered' by both girls and dehumanised.
This is only short but is an intriguing thought experiment that I immediately wanted to discuss with other readers.
January 22, 2023
باید اعتراف کنم تا قبل خوندنش فکر میکردم آدم ظاهربینی نیستم. به ندرت قضاوت میکنم و برام خیلی چیزها اهمیت چندانی ندارن.
اما تونی موریسون جلو راهم سبز شد. با بازی قشنگش با کلمات ذهنم رو زیر و رو کرد. حتی فکر میکنم موقع نوشتن این داستان کوتاه، زیر لب می گفت "همتون سراپا یه کرباسین. فقط ادعاتون کون فلک رو پاره کرده!"
تا قبل از آشناییم با این بشر، خیال میکردم آثار نابوکوف قابلیت این رو دارن که با هر بار خوندنشون، برداشت متفاوتی از بار قبل داشته باشم. اما موریسون با یه داستان کوتاه جمع و جور، جوری قلمش رو به رخم کشید که تا انتهای داستان داشتم با خودم کلنجار میرفتم. اون هم سر چی؟ سر سوالاتی که به شدت سطحی بودن. اون سیاه بود یا سفید؟!
بعد که به خودم اومدم دیدم ای دل غافل، عجب رکبی خوردم.
شقایق که گوز گوز میکردی همه عمر
دیدی که چگونه تونی مچت را گرفت
خلاصه اینطوری پی بردم تافته ی جدا بافته نیستم و مثل تمامی آدم ها درگیر حواشی بی اهمیت میشم.
حالا جریان از چه قرار بود؟ توایلا و روبرتا، دو دختر ۸ ساله که سر از پرورشگاه درآوردن. و ما در طول داستان شاهد ارتباطشون هستیم. ارتباطی که موریسون به salt and pepper تشبیهش کرده. اما خب این ماجرا به ظاهر ساده هست ولی شیوه ی روایت نویسنده باعث میشه داستان فراتر بره. جوری که تو توصیفات گم بشی، دوباره برگردی و بخونی و زیر لب بگی پس با این اوصاف اون سیاه بود؟! و یکم که بیشتر پیش رفتی حرفت رو عوض کنی و بگی خب الان معلوم شد سفید هست. جوری که یه آن به خودت میای و میفهمی عجب نژادپرستی هستی!
موریسون شخصیت ها رو در هم آمیخته میکنه. حتی دیالوگ هاشون! طوری که برام جای سوال بود الان کدومشون این حرف رو زد.
حتی تصوری که از گذشته و خاطراتی که به جا مونده داری رو هم به سخره میگیره. اینکه اونچه به یاد داری، تصورات ذهنی تو هستن یا واقعیت ماجرا یا ترکیبی از هردوشون؟
در کل اگه بخوام از زیبایی هاش بگم میتونم به در هم تنیدگی عجیبش اشاره کنم. جوری که تشخیص رو ناممکن میکنه.
بیشتر از این جایز نیست بگم. خودتون بخونین و قضاوت کنین.
فقط این رو بگم برای منی که با داستان کوتاه زیاد ارتباط برقرار نمیکنم به شدت لذت بخش بود.(صدالبته که به این معنی نیست تو هم چنین دیدگاهی رو با خوندنش داشته باشی.)
پی نوشت: بسی خوشحالم که اولین ریویوی فارسی رو درباره ش نوشتم.
اما تونی موریسون جلو راهم سبز شد. با بازی قشنگش با کلمات ذهنم رو زیر و رو کرد. حتی فکر میکنم موقع نوشتن این داستان کوتاه، زیر لب می گفت "همتون سراپا یه کرباسین. فقط ادعاتون کون فلک رو پاره کرده!"
تا قبل از آشناییم با این بشر، خیال میکردم آثار نابوکوف قابلیت این رو دارن که با هر بار خوندنشون، برداشت متفاوتی از بار قبل داشته باشم. اما موریسون با یه داستان کوتاه جمع و جور، جوری قلمش رو به رخم کشید که تا انتهای داستان داشتم با خودم کلنجار میرفتم. اون هم سر چی؟ سر سوالاتی که به شدت سطحی بودن. اون سیاه بود یا سفید؟!
بعد که به خودم اومدم دیدم ای دل غافل، عجب رکبی خوردم.
شقایق که گوز گوز میکردی همه عمر
دیدی که چگونه تونی مچت را گرفت
خلاصه اینطوری پی بردم تافته ی جدا بافته نیستم و مثل تمامی آدم ها درگیر حواشی بی اهمیت میشم.
حالا جریان از چه قرار بود؟ توایلا و روبرتا، دو دختر ۸ ساله که سر از پرورشگاه درآوردن. و ما در طول داستان شاهد ارتباطشون هستیم. ارتباطی که موریسون به salt and pepper تشبیهش کرده. اما خب این ماجرا به ظاهر ساده هست ولی شیوه ی روایت نویسنده باعث میشه داستان فراتر بره. جوری که تو توصیفات گم بشی، دوباره برگردی و بخونی و زیر لب بگی پس با این اوصاف اون سیاه بود؟! و یکم که بیشتر پیش رفتی حرفت رو عوض کنی و بگی خب الان معلوم شد سفید هست. جوری که یه آن به خودت میای و میفهمی عجب نژادپرستی هستی!
موریسون شخصیت ها رو در هم آمیخته میکنه. حتی دیالوگ هاشون! طوری که برام جای سوال بود الان کدومشون این حرف رو زد.
حتی تصوری که از گذشته و خاطراتی که به جا مونده داری رو هم به سخره میگیره. اینکه اونچه به یاد داری، تصورات ذهنی تو هستن یا واقعیت ماجرا یا ترکیبی از هردوشون؟
در کل اگه بخوام از زیبایی هاش بگم میتونم به در هم تنیدگی عجیبش اشاره کنم. جوری که تشخیص رو ناممکن میکنه.
بیشتر از این جایز نیست بگم. خودتون بخونین و قضاوت کنین.
فقط این رو بگم برای منی که با داستان کوتاه زیاد ارتباط برقرار نمیکنم به شدت لذت بخش بود.(صدالبته که به این معنی نیست تو هم چنین دیدگاهی رو با خوندنش داشته باشی.)
پی نوشت: بسی خوشحالم که اولین ریویوی فارسی رو درباره ش نوشتم.
February 14, 2022
Twyla is Black.
Who is who? Also, how do you, the reader, know it?
These are the foundational questions held in the back of your mind when reading Recitatif, the only short story by Ms. Toni Morrison.
Incredibly layered and thought-provoking; I think I could have done without the Introduction by Zadie Smith. I would highly recommend reading the extended introduction to Recitatif after tackling the story.
I love the experimental nature of the writing and of course we do because it forces us to consider deeply. I was confronted with some of my own biases when reading and had to double back a few times in my mind to ask myself why I thought the way I did about each girl and her mother.
Toni Morrison encourages readers to interface with their community & racial history in a variety of ways to understand the larger context of this story. She then concludes Recitatif by leaving us with questions surrounding what is understood by the reader about others and the nuances and circumstances of their lives. This is something that Toni Morrison does best.
Who is who? Also, how do you, the reader, know it?
These are the foundational questions held in the back of your mind when reading Recitatif, the only short story by Ms. Toni Morrison.
Incredibly layered and thought-provoking; I think I could have done without the Introduction by Zadie Smith. I would highly recommend reading the extended introduction to Recitatif after tackling the story.
I love the experimental nature of the writing and of course we do because it forces us to consider deeply. I was confronted with some of my own biases when reading and had to double back a few times in my mind to ask myself why I thought the way I did about each girl and her mother.
Toni Morrison encourages readers to interface with their community & racial history in a variety of ways to understand the larger context of this story. She then concludes Recitatif by leaving us with questions surrounding what is understood by the reader about others and the nuances and circumstances of their lives. This is something that Toni Morrison does best.
March 28, 2022
I am late to the party, with Recitatif being my first Toni Morrison read. This is a short story under 50 pages about two young girls, Twyla and Roberta, who meet in a shelter — One is Black, one is white, with different home lives and reasons for being there. The girls meet again randomly later in life as adults, multiple times. The story held my interest and left me wanting to read more, which I always take as a good sign in a short story.
February 23, 2024
I've been wanting to try another Toni Morrison, since the only one I had previously read in high school went completely over my head at age 15. Recitatif is Morrison's only short story, and this audiobook version is read by the wonderful Bahni Turpin (who you might recognize from Angie Thomas or Akwaeke Emezi's audiobooks). Also included in an excellent essay written and read by Zadie Smith. This comes first in the audio, but if you are new to the story as I was, skip the essay and listen to the story first! Then go back and listen to the essay afterwards. This way the cleverness and impact of the story can hit you fully. It is so smart, so well crafted, and such a master class in writing that both reveals and conceals so much about the complicated relationship of two damaged women.
February 14, 2022
An interesting short story about two women Twyla and Roberta who first meet at the age of 8 in a shelter and then reunite a few more times in their adult years. One woman is Black the other white, but Toni Morrison never tells us which is which. We are given clues throughout the story but it is never stated explicitly. To be honest the character's race is an interesting aspect of the story, but I was more invested in how this relationship developed and evolved over time. Obviously, race is an important factor in determining how the two women see each other but its not really all that important. What is important is what happened when they were 8 living in the shelter and what they may or may not have done to Maggie, a mute woman who worked in the kitchen. Morrison describes the two girls encounter with Maggie in a very sobering and heartbreaking way.
Lastly, Zadie Smith's introduction was good but too long. I read most of the introduction after reading the story because many readers felt Zadie gave too much away in it. I agree with that sentiment to a point. The second half of Zadie's intro was alot of pontificating in my opinion. Sometimes we should let the story be the story, let it speak for itself.
Lastly, Zadie Smith's introduction was good but too long. I read most of the introduction after reading the story because many readers felt Zadie gave too much away in it. I agree with that sentiment to a point. The second half of Zadie's intro was alot of pontificating in my opinion. Sometimes we should let the story be the story, let it speak for itself.
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