Listen to a sample
On Morrison
- Author
- Namwali Serpell
- Narrator
- January LaVoy
- Publisher
- Random House
- Publish Date
- 19 February 2026
- Run Time
- 12 hours 55 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
Not available in your country
We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
The essential companion to Toni Morrison’s work, written by Namwali Serpell, ‘one of the most innovative and intelligent writers today’ (Financial Times)
Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate and most beloved of writers, has inspired generations of readers. But her artistic genius is often overshadowed by her monumental public persona, perhaps because, as Namwali Serpell puts it, ‘she is our only truly canonical black, female writer – and her work is highly complex.’ In On Morrison, Serpell brings her unique experience as both an award-winning writer and professor to illuminate Toni Morrison’s masterful experiments with literary form.
This is Morrison as you’ve never encountered her before, a journey through her vivid fiction and criticism, as well as her lesser-known dramatic works and poetry – with contextual guidance and original close readings. Accessible and thrillingly rigorous, On Morrison is a primer not only on how to read one of the most significant American contemporary authors of our time, but how to approach any great work of literature. The conversation between the two black women artist-readers that rises from these pages is stylish, edifying and spectacular in its scope and erudition.
'Breathtaking, provocative and refreshing' IMANI PERRY
'Serpell is a superlative essayist' DIANA EVANS
'A literary miracle' KIESE LAYMON
'Stunning reconsiderations of Morrison… incisive, tender, and also honest and unsparing’ HANIF ABDURRAQIB, author of A Little Devil in America
© Namwali Serpell 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Critics Review
-
Deep and enriching.... I have waited years for this book.... Serpell has managed to deliver a book that works on many levels: as a study of craft, as a critical appraisal, and as a tribute to an artist who was difficult in all the right ways
Guardian
-
I did not expect reading this learned work of literary criticism to be some of the most fun I've had this year
Observer
-
On Morrison provides deft readings of the writer’s major works, along with her less familiar plays and poetry… crafting elegant critical writing while occasionally slipping into something more personal and lyrical
Times Literary Supplement
-
[Serpell has] hopped on a rocket and touched the Tonisphere, with her mind... Serpell's excitement, her sense of discovery and dismay, become yours
NYTBR
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
Serpell brings her expertise and eye to Toni Morrison’s singular literary genius. Maybe you’ve memorised The Bluest Eye, Sula or Morrison’s essays by heart, or you’ve decided to revisit an author you were first introduced to in school. Either way, this work will deepen your understanding of and appreciation for one of the greatest writers and editors of the 20th century
Harper's Bazaar
-
Serpell is a superlative essayist, and On Morrison a high-flying, fantastically erudite rendition of how Morrison wanted to be read, blending the scholarly and the personal response to her work with seamless flair and conviction
DIANA EVANS, author of Ordinary People
-
[Sepell’s] reading of Morrison is thick: layered with frameworks and a sophisticated ability to render critical inquiry legible
Guardian
-
Informed, accessible literary analysis
Wall Street Journal
-
Serpell examines Toni Morrison’s oeuvre with the rigor of an academic and the admiration of a fellow creative... refreshingly jargon-free and accessible to most readers of Morrison’s novels and essays
Los Angeles Times
-
In On Morrison, Serpell applies her prodigious intellect, vast literary archive, and her own calling as a novelist to magnificent effect in this breathtaking, provocative, and refreshing engagement with Morrison as a thinker as well as an artist
IMANI PERRY, author of South to America
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Namwali Serpell
- Narrator
- January LaVoy
- Duration
- 12 hours 55 minutes
- Release Date
- 19 February 2026
- ISBN
- 9781529982169
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Random House
- Genre
- Biography: writers, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin.The essential companion to Toni Morrison’s work, written by Namwali Serpell, ‘one of the most innovative and intelligent writers today’ (Financial Times)Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate and most beloved of writers, has inspired generations of readers. But her artistic genius is often overshadowed by her monumental public persona, perhaps because, as Namwali Serpell puts it, ‘she is our only truly canonical black, female writer – and her work is highly complex.’ In On Morrison, Serpell brings her unique experience as both an award-winning writer and professor to illuminate Toni Morrison’s masterful experiments with literary form.This is Morrison as you’ve never encountered her before, a journey through her vivid fiction and criticism, as well as her lesser-known dramatic works and poetry – with contextual guidance and original close readings. Accessible and thrillingly rigorous, On Morrison is a primer not only on how to read one of the most significant American contemporary authors of our time, but how to approach any great work of literature. The conversation between the two black women artist-readers that rises from these pages is stylish, edifying and spectacular in its scope and erudition.'Breathtaking, provocative and refreshing' IMANI PERRY'Serpell is a superlative essayist' DIANA EVANS'A literary miracle' KIESE LAYMON'Stunning reconsiderations of Morrison… incisive, tender, and also honest and unsparing’ HANIF ABDURRAQIB, author of A Little Devil in America© Namwali Serpell 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.