Milkman Dead finds his peace in Song of Solomon

OK Morrisson, that’s strike two. I read her Jazz a couple years ago, didn’t like it all, so I went into Song of Solomon with a bit of trepidation. I was pleasantly surprised for most of the book, was really enjoying it, but the ending just didn’t do it for me.

The book follows Milkman Dead. His real name is Macon Dead (the third of his name), the unfortunate result of his grandfather, a freed slave who cannot read, being asked what his name was to register as a free man. The person taking the info down accidentally put down Macon as name instead of origin, and when asked where his family was, Macon replied “dead.” Milkman received his nickname from another unfortunate incident, his mother being caught breast feeding him at the not-so-young age of 5 or 6.

Milkman was raised in a rough house without a lot of love. His father (Macon the second) is a wealthy landlord in Chicago, a man who only loves money and the pursuit of it. Milkman’s mother Ruth has a whole mess of issues that I won’t get into, and the two parents despise each other. Milkman gets no love from his older sisters either, girls who were raised to think they were better than all the other black men and women in the area, but who end up as old maids still living at home, never having gotten married. Milkman’s other family include his aunt Pilate, her daughter Reba, and Reba’s daughter Hagar, to whom Milkman becomes romantically involved as a teenager. As a person, Milkman doesn’t care about anybody. He uses people and twists their desires to his own needs (such as Hagar) and doesn’t seem to have any redeeming qualities.

The book mostly follows the secrets of the Dead family. What past deed made Macon and Ruth hate each other, what made Macon and his sister Pilate separate when they were very close as children, and other questions are all raised throughout the course of the book. Little glimpses of info are tantalizingly leaked here and there, which made for a fantastic page turner. When Milkman finally decides to go on a quest to Virginia, ostensibly to find a long-buried treasure but also to find the origin of his family and their crazy circle, I was all in, ready to get to the bottom of the mysteries of the Dead family. Unfortunately, while the questions were answered (with mostly satisfying results), the book took a weird, mystical turn in the final pages. While this was definitely hinted at previously, I had wished for a more straight forward read. There is a character in the book who seemed to serve no other purpose but to bring an abrupt ending to the book. I won’t argue the book is well written, I won’t even argue its greatness, but from a personal standpoint, the denouement was lacking. I have one more Morrisson book on this before I’m all done. Here’s hoping…