Toni Morrison Standalone Novels books in order

Toni Morrison's standalone novels include eleven works of literary fiction published between 1970 and 2014, from The Bluest Eye to God Help the Child.

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 The Bluest Eye 1970 Toni Morrison Buy
2 Sula 1973 Toni Morrison Buy
3 Song of Solomon 1977 Toni Morrison Buy
4 Tar Baby 1981 Toni Morrison Buy
5 Beloved 1987 Toni Morrison Buy
6 Jazz 1992 Toni Morrison Buy
7 Paradise 1997 Toni Morrison Buy
8 Love 2003 Toni Morrison Buy
9 A Mercy 2008 Toni Morrison Buy
10 Home 2011 Toni Morrison Buy
11 God Help the Child 2014 Toni Morrison Buy

Toni Morrison’s eleven novels span more than four decades and cover centuries of Black American experience. The Bluest Eye (1970) examines a young girl’s desire for blue eyes in a society that values whiteness, while Sula (1973) traces a friendship between two women in a small Ohio town. Song of Solomon (1977) follows a young man’s search for family history, and Tar Baby (1981) moves to the Caribbean.

Beloved (1987), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, is widely considered her greatest novel. It tells the story of a formerly enslaved woman haunted by the child she killed to spare from slavery. Jazz (1992) and Paradise (1997) continued Morrison’s exploration of community, violence, and belonging. Her later novels, from Love (2003) through God Help the Child (2014), are shorter and more compressed but no less focused on the costs of racism and the complexity of love.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Toni Morrison Standalone Novels series?

There are eleven books in the Toni Morrison Standalone Novels series, published between 1970 and 2014.

What is the first book in the Toni Morrison Standalone Novels series?

The first book in the Toni Morrison Standalone Novels series is The Bluest Eye, published in 1970.

In what order should Toni Morrison's novels be read?

Publication order works well: start with The Bluest Eye (1970), then Sula, Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, Beloved, Jazz, Paradise, Love, A Mercy, Home, and God Help the Child. Beloved is often recommended as the best entry point for new readers.

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