Recitatif

Toni Morrison

When I read anything written by Toni Morrison, the first word that comes to my mind is delicate. The themes she explores are far from subjects one would expect to be handled delicately—but then again, she is Toni Morrison. This tiny, 40-page book, Recitatif, is the only published short story by Morrison. At first glance, it might seem to be about race but reducing it to that would be too narrow. Like most of Morrison’s works, it resists being confined to a single theme—it is as complex as humanity itself.
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‍Recitatif follows the story of two girls and their experiences in an orphanage. One is black, the other white—but the brilliance of the story lies in how Morrison masterfully keeps the reader from knowing which is which. She does this with remarkable subtlety. At times, you’re certain Twyla is Black; at other times, you’re convinced Roberta is—and that’s exactly the point. You can’t possibly separate the two parts of this duality. This is Morrison’s genius at work, powerfully exposing the artificiality of divisions.

And needless to say, Zadie Smith’s preface for this book is more than great. If anyone were to write a preface for Recitatif, it had to be her.

A beautiful read.
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