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silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe. There is no gift for the beloved. The lover alone possesses his gift of love. The loved one is shorn, neutralized, frozen in the glare of the lover’s inward eye.
I think the quote above speaks for itself. There is no wonder that Toni Morrison is so beloved amongst both book readers and those who do not tend to read quite as often. This book is so moving, striking and shocking. Being Morrison's debut novel, I get the sense that she has not yet come into herself as a writer, but the writing is gorgeous nonetheless and accomplishes exactly what the author sets off to achieve from the start (according to the author's note). For the time in which it is written, this book and its narrative are exceptionally innovative, the language is exciting and memorable, and the characters are multidimensional and complex.
Overall, I am disappointed that I did not read this sooner. Morrison is an absolute treasure!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Racism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Addiction, Mental illness, Classism, Religious bigotry, Drug use, Child abuse, Bullying, Misogyny, Incest, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, and Hate crime
lilly_dav_reading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Bullying, Racism, Child abuse, Abandonment, Violence, Animal cruelty, Rape, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Incest, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Death
connieevans's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
reflectiverambling_nalana's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Absolutely hard hitting look at the complex ways trauma changes self perception and in some turns not only self worth but behavior, how those things pass on, and how different people respond to this cascade. Utterly wrenching. Listened to in the author's own voice with followup commentary of inspirations and intent added another layer. Understandable why this has lasted and remains as prevalent today. Even being far out of the black experience myself, the experience of being changed and influenced by cultural and periodical ideals and standards is universally relatable on a broader level, as is fact that history will echo down through the generations. that our actions reverberate and effect others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Death, Ableism, Sexual assault, Incest, and Rape
Moderate: Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, and Racism
Minor: Violence, Vomit, and Animal cruelty
hfjarmer's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
*The Bluest Eye* is a novel which, supposedly, follows Pecola Breedlove, a self-proclaimed “ugly” black girl, who grows up in a home with her abusive father and a mother who admittedly does not love her, despite her best efforts. All Pecola wants in the whole world are the “beautiful blue eyes” of a white woman. She believes wholeheartedly that blue eyes would cure her of ugliness, and make her somehow “clean”. This brings us to the central theme of Morrison’s novel - internalized racism and the injurious effects of a society which centers and reveres whiteness as good, clean, and beautiful. My favorite character in this novel was Claudia who, at the young age of 9, has already recognized the problematic centering of whiteness and so takes it upon herself to rebel against the idea that white equals beauty by knowing for a fact she is beautiful herself just as she is. We see this again when Claudia is discussing Pecola’s pregnancy with Frieda, saying “More strongly than my fondness for Pecola, I felt a need for someone to want the black baby to live—just to counteract the universal love of white baby dolls, Shirley Temples, and Maureen Peals.”
Honestly, I am devastated to say I did not really like this book. I enjoyed Morrison’s poetic writing style which flowed together well in spite of the disjointed nature of the narrative itself. By dissecting the novel so the reader has to put the pieces together for themselves, Morrison takes away the reader’s ability to really connect with the characters. This is something Morrison herself points out in the afterward of her novel. I spent so much time trying to understand who was being talked about and why we are talking about them that I was unable to enjoy the story of it all. For a novel about Pecola Breedlove, we know nearly nothing about her, and are never given the opportunity to hear from her directly. While this could be seen as an example of a young woman robbed of her voice, I just think it was a poor narrative decision and I found it overall to be frustrating.
I have heard many wonderful things about Toni Morrison and I certainly don’t doubt them, but this one simply didn’t work for me. I will read another book by Morrison though, rest assured.
Honestly, I am devastated to say I did not really like this book. I enjoyed Morrison’s poetic writing style which flowed together well in spite of the disjointed nature of the narrative itself. By dissecting the novel so the reader has to put the pieces together for themselves, Morrison takes away the reader’s ability to really connect with the characters. This is something Morrison herself points out in the afterward of her novel. I spent so much time trying to understand who was being talked about and why we are talking about them that I was unable to enjoy the story of it all. For a novel about Pecola Breedlove, we know nearly nothing about her, and are never given the opportunity to hear from her directly. While this could be seen as an example of a young woman robbed of her voice, I just think it was a poor narrative decision and I found it overall to be frustrating.
I have heard many wonderful things about Toni Morrison and I certainly don’t doubt them, but this one simply didn’t work for me. I will read another book by Morrison though, rest assured.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Incest, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Racial slurs
ajay913's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Racism, and Incest
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Miscarriage, Mental illness, and Pregnancy
minayana's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is a great novel with really poignant prose. The plot is really tragic, as are all the characters. The POV switches often, with the POV of Claudia being the only recurring one. Morrison explores the ways that black children are taught self loathing and hate, and how the definition of “beauty” is often intertwined with race. There is especially a spotlight on the treatment of black women in society, one of the topics being how black men will turn to abusing black women due to feeling demasculinized by white men. The author gives all the characters backstories to show how they became the people they are in the present day. I know some people didn’t like that she humanized the bad characters, but I think it’s important to recognize that the terrible things that happen in this novel are distinctly human.
This book is a hard read, and it did a bit too much towards the end for me personally. I don’t think there was a reason to show the rape of Pecola considering we already know from the very beginning of the book that it happens. I also really didn’t understand the point of the POV of “Soaphead” except to be gratuitously disturbing.
This book covers so many extremely important topics and themes, and I would definitely recommend, but PLEASE check the trigger warnings before reading!
A few other things I had issues with. The way fat characters are treated and described are pretty fatphobic, but I’m not surprised considering the time it was published. There’s also a character who doesn’t enjoy sex with her husband, and finds comfort in her cat. There’s really weird descriptions of her experiencing “pleasure” from her cat sitting on her lap and stuff like that ??? Weird and once again, gratuitous.
This book is a hard read, and it did a bit too much towards the end for me personally. I don’t think there was a reason to show the rape of Pecola considering we already know from the very beginning of the book that it happens. I also really didn’t understand the point of the POV of “Soaphead” except to be gratuitously disturbing.
This book covers so many extremely important topics and themes, and I would definitely recommend, but PLEASE check the trigger warnings before reading!
A few other things I had issues with. The way fat characters are treated and described are pretty fatphobic, but I’m not surprised considering the time it was published. There’s also a character who doesn’t enjoy sex with her husband, and finds comfort in her cat. There’s really weird descriptions of her experiencing “pleasure” from her cat sitting on her lap and stuff like that ??? Weird and once again, gratuitous.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual assault, Classism, Domestic abuse, Incest, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Animal death, and Pedophilia
paulakhance's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Prose is fabulous, story is sad
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Domestic abuse, and Rape
aduran037's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Abandonment, Addiction, Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Rape, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Incest, Classism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, and Sexual assault
kaitisbooknook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Toni Morrison manages to write about the ugliest parts of being alive in the most beautiful language. She pulls no punches and is brutally honest while being endlessly empathetic. This is the kind of book that I will think about often, and it will always make my stomach hurt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse