God Help The Child

God Help the Child, the eleventh novel by critically-acclaimed writer Toni Morrison, was published in 2015. This guide is based on the 2015 Kindle book published by Borzoi Books, an Alfred A. Knopf imprint. One of Morrison’s few works with a contemporary setting and cast of characters, the novel explores themes related to the impact of racism and colorism on children, the prevalence of trauma such as child sexual abuse in the lives of children, and the harsh reality of mothering and childhood in a world marred by racism and violence.

Part 1of the novel opens with Sweetness, who explains that her poor treatment of Lula Ann (called “Bride” in the present), her dark-skinned daughter, was not her fault because racism forced her to prepare the child for a hard life. Morrison introduces Bride, the protagonist, as a beautiful, glamorous woman who is unable to move on after Booker Stabern, her lover, abruptly leaves her. Bride attempts to burnish her self-esteem by taking money, an air-travel voucher, and make-up to Sofia Huxley, a woman convicted of child sexual abuse charges in part based on false testimony Bride gave 15 years prior.