If you want to feel well read…

Or at least say you read something over the summer. Given that there are literally only a few days left of summer, I invite you to read the brilliant short-story written by Toni Morrison, Recitatif. It’s a coming-of-age story about two young girls whose bond was formed in the orphanage they were both abandoned in for different reasons.

It tracks their lives to adulthood and how that fateful start in life informed their futures, as well as traces their memory and how easy it is to forget, compartmentalize or rewrite in order to survive the pain then and the hope of now. One of the brilliant pillars of this book is the lack of clear race identity of either protagonist.

It forces the reader to impart their own judgment and prejudice between each elegant yet economic word. Zadie Smith’s review first appeared in The New Yorker and also serves as the introduction to the book. So if you read the below link, you have already read half the book and can just skip to the impeccable prose of Morrison when you pick up your own needed copy for your collection.

Notes on my life: I found this book at another one of my favorite stores on Martha’s Vineyard island, SALTE. It’s a lifestyle store that knows that the best accessory for any home is a good book. I read Recitatif one day– the first half of the book was over a cup of delicious matcha from BEHIND THE BOOKSTORE in Vineyard Haven, which is technically behind MAGNETIC NORTH [another great MV store for shopping].

I read the other half of the book when me, Toyin and our boys took a long walk from Fat Fingers Farm to Long Point Beach. I am wearing the dress I picked up in Santa Barbara that one day I had lunch with Oprah to discuss Love Is___. And my new beach mat from Lennox & Harvey is waiting for me to finish the page-turner so I can finally jump in the ocean and be useful.