Song of Solomon

a novel by Toni Morrison, published in 1977. One of the author's most impressive novels, Song of Solomon explores Milkman Dead's return to both his American and African roots in a journey from his Northern middle-class city home to the Southern rural community where his family began. In its account of Milkman Dead's fantastic genealogy the novel contains elements of magic realism and shows the influence of contemporary South and Central American authors such as Isabel Allende, Alejo Carpentier, and Carlos Fuentes. Through Morrison's use of African-American folk-tales depicting escaping slaves, she weaves a parable of transcendence through self-discovery.