Cover of Beloved

Beloved

Toni Morrison, 1987

American novelist, 1931–2019. Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988.

Beloved is a 1987 novel by Toni Morrison. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988.

All-Time Canon
  • Prize Winner

In Black American

On 9 of the 17 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Toni Morrison
First published
1987
Length
352 pages (UK paperback)
Awards
Genre
Literary fiction, Black American, Historical setting, Gothic

Is Beloved worth reading?

9 of the 17 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian).

ListPlaceOriginal
100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph, 2009)No. 50See the list
100 novels that shaped our world (BBC Arts, 2019)ListedSee the list
All-Time 100 Novels (Time, 2005)ListedSee the list
Bokklubben World Library (Norwegian Book Clubs, 2002)ListedSee the list
National Book Award for Fiction (winners and finalists) (National Book Foundation, 1987)ShortlistSee the list
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (winners and finalists) (Columbia University, 1988)WinnerSee the list
Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026)No. 20See the list
The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026)No. 2See the list
The Great American Read (PBS, 2018)ListedSee the list

Best edition of Beloved

The edition we link to is the Vintage Classics paperback (2007), 352 pages.

Publisher
Vintage Classics (paperback, 2007)
Pages
352
ISBN
9780099511656

How critics, prizes and readers rate Beloved

Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 83% of the points available on prize lists, against 54% on critics' lists and 34% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
54%
Prizes
83%
Readers and booksellers
34%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like Beloved

If you liked Beloved, try Song of Solomon, Sula or The Bluest Eye.

Lists used on this page