Beloved, anyone else disappointed?

[Cowboi]

So I finally read Beloved by Toni Morrison, after having it sit on my bookshelf for years I decided to pick it up a few weeks ago. I just finished it and all I can think about is rather or not anyone else was as disappointed in it as I was.

The writing was beautiful, the story was spectacular, but the ending (or at least the part where Beloved the person ended) was just a little sudden and strange. I really like it up until the last few pages but the whole idea of what happened to Beloved, and the way that they made you hang for a few pages before even knowing what Sethe did with the darn ice pick.... I don't know, it just didn't work for me personally.

Has anyone else read this? If so please let me know what you think of the ending, maybe it is one of those things where I just need another perspective to grasp it better and that may make all of the difference.

[paxcow]

I'm actually reading Beloved for English class. Everyone I've talked to hates the book mainly because of how it jumps from the past to the present so often with little notice thus leaving the reader confused. We haven't finished reading it yet, but I was talking to a person in the grade above mine about it who read the book last year. She said the ending was really odd and not very good.

Personally, I think the story is good and the writing is fine, though I have been confused about who is narrating, among other things. Overall, I just can't get into it and I'm four fifths of the way done... I'm especially confused about Sethe's children... as I understand it, Denver was Sethe's last child and was born when Sethe ran away from Sweet Home. So where did her other children come from?  It seems like they appeared out of the blue when Sethe arrived at 124 lol

Sorry I can't give my opinion on the ending. But so far, I don't like the book very much.

[Cowboi]

I'm especially confused about Sethe's children... as I understand it, Denver was Sethe's last child and was born when Sethe ran away from Sweet Home. So where did her other children come from?  It seems like they appeared out of the blue when Sethe arrived at 124 lol

Yeah, the introduction of the other children was handled very randomly through out the entire story with bits and pieces it seems. After reading the whole book I do know that her other children (I believe it was two boys and the little girl Beloved) were all born on Sweet Home. She sent them ahead and planned to follow as soon as she found her husband? That part I can't remember for sure but I think that is what she was doing when she did not leave with them. So they actually made it to 124 earlier than her because they were taken along with other people, as opposed to the way she had to actually walk the entire way while pregnant which obviously set her back and took her longer. Denver of course was born while on her journey to 124.

The basic issue with the idea of who is narrating is that everyone is but no one is. It jumps around a lot from character to character telling their particular story or thoughts on issues and never really stays with just one. At first it was just like reading a book where there is not a character acting as narrator then they suddenly began jumping around to different characters, and then it seems like it goes back to the noncharacter point of view. A little bit much for some people I think.