The unnamed omniscient narrator--like a Greek chorus, or a tribal storyteller--relates the story of Joe and Violet Trace, a pair of orphans who meet and marry in rural Virginia, then come north to Harlem in 1906. Trapped in their unfulfilling marriage for 20 years, Joe begins an affair with a young woman, Dorcas. When she leaves him, he kills her--an act which, oddly, restores his relationship with Violet. Throughout the novel, the rhythms of jazz in early-20th-century New York propel the narrative.

Toni Morrison (born Chloe Anthony[1] Wofford on February 18, 1931) is a Nobel Prize-winning American author, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed black characters. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, and Beloved, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988.
Her work has been performed on stage and in film.