Ep. 382 God Help the Child by Toni Morrison — The Stacks Book Club (Dana A. Williams)

The Stacks

Traci Thomas

Literature, Society & Culture, Books, Arts

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 30 July 2025

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s The Stacks Book Club Day, and we're discussing Toni Morrison's God Help the Child with Dana A. Williams, author of Toni at Random. Together, we talk about the themes that show up in God Help the Child that have echoes from Morrison's earlier work—generational trauma and racialized beauty. We also discuss why Toni Morrison wanted to write a contemporary novel, the great names in the book, and who we would cast in the film.

There are spoilers on this episode.

Be sure to listen to the end of today’s episode to find out what our August book club pick will be.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website:

https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/7/30/ep-382-god-help-the-child

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, y'all, it's me back with another book to tell you about. If you love contemporary retellings of
0:07.7	classic novels like James by Percival Everett, then let me tell you about your next favorite book.
0:14.9	It's called The Great Man and it is a retelling of the Great Gatsby, but it is set among the black upper class of post-war Los Angeles
0:23.5	and is inspired by real-life historic events. It follows Charlie Tremel, a young veteran who is
0:30.0	lured by his cousin Marguerite to the esteemed West Adams Heights, L.A.'s newly recristened Sugar Hill, a place for black elites. As Charlie
0:41.4	navigates a landscape rife with ambition, betrayal, and societal turmoil, he soon finds himself
0:47.1	beside the dazzling James Reaper man, facing a pivotal decision that could end in tragedy.
0:54.0	Whether you've read or not read The Great Gatsby, man facing a pivotal decision that could end in tragedy.
1:00.0	Whether you've read or not read The Great Gatsby, you're going to like the great man.
1:02.4	The Great Man is out now.
1:07.0	It is by Kira Davis Lurie and you can find it wherever books are sold.
1:13.3	I'm sometimes frustrated with stories that tie things neatly up in a bow. This one isn't quite in a bow. No, it's just like a knot. It's a really interesting not that sweetness tells us
1:21.4	it's going to be naughty for the kid, right? For the unborn child. But I think the thing that we have to think about is we got to find
1:30.4	goodness in ways that evil cannot dominate. Because if you are not careful, it's very easy
1:36.7	to think that evil has taken over.
1:48.7	Welcome to the Stacks, a podcast about books and the people who read them.
1:52.2	I'm your host, Tracy Thomas, and it is The Stacks Book Club Day.
1:56.9	This month, we have been reading Tony Morrison's final novel, God Help the Child.
2:03.9	And once again, I am joined by Dana A. Williams, an African-American literature professor and the author of Tony at Random, the iconic writer's legendary editorship. Dana is the perfect guest to discuss this
2:11.1	contemporary novel written by Tony Morrison in 2015. Today we discuss the complexities of this novel, dive into the lives of all of the
2:20.6	characters, and debate the ending of this book. There are spoilers on today's episode. Don't
2:28.0	forget to listen to the end of the episode to find out what our August book club pick will be.
	...

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