Toni Morrison’s fierce and provocative new novel, the first one to be set in our current times, exposes the damage that adults wreak on children, and how this echoes through the generations.

When Sweetness gives birth to Lula Ann Bridewell, who calls herself Bride, she is unprepared for her darkness. Bride’s blue-black coloring repels Sweetness, who doesn’t want to hold her or touch her. It makes Sweetness unduly harsh, constantly criticizing and shouting at the young Lula Ann, who only wants her mother’s approval – at any cost.