Love: A Novel

Morrison uses first-person narration for L. and third person narration for Heed, Christine, and others. How does Morrison use tone, diction, and other narrative techniques to create differences in their narrative voices?

The chronology of Love is nonlinear, and the chapters frequently slide back and forth between the past and present as characters reminisce. What is the effect of this?

There are a variety of character names in the novel, and many of them have symbolic or thematic meaning, such as Vida (“life”) or Celestial (“heavenly”). Choose a character; what does their name represent and why does Morrison use this name?

The novel takes place over a roughly 50-year span, from the 1940s to the 1990s. Many historical events are alluded to, including the civil rights movement, the lynching of Emmett Till, and World War II. How do these historical events affect the characters in the novel?

Morrison’s novels often incorporate supernatural or magic realist elements, and Love is no exception. Throughout the novel, Junior is be able to sense the presence of the dead, including both Bill Cosey and L. How does this supernatural element connect to some of the text’s major ideas and themes?

The chapters in the novel are all named after different roles that Bill Cosey played in the lives of those around him. What do these titles tell the reader about Cosey and how he was perceived by different characters?

The novel contains many vivid descriptions of clothing, especially women’s clothing. Choose one such description. What does it convey about the character and the person viewing them?

The story of Bill Cosey informing on a man, the man’s subsequent public arrest, and the child from the crowd falling in the street is retold several times throughout the text. How does the story’s telling change throughout the novel, depending on who is telling it? What details change and why?