Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - The Bluest Eye

Toni Morrison’s pen is just unmatched! Every sentence feels careful, measured, a thin blade exacted in just the right way to perfectly achieve what the moment needs. The character work in this book is where it most shines. Even though Pecola is the main character in this story, she more so acts as connective tissue through which we probe the people around her, the ways in which their stories hinder their ability to fully see or love Pecola in the ways she needs it. I loved how Morrison dissects how white supremacy fuels shame and feelings of inadequacy, which in turn breeds hate, violence, and disconnectedness. I think this is a book I’ll need to read again to get at the many layers of it, just truly a work of art.

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bt_wannabe's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

The Bluest Eye is a powerful, poignant, thought-provoking, and emotional book that will stay with you forever.

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afroheaux's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

This was an incredibly tough read, and it was worth every single second. I saw so much of myself in this book and it talked about the world in the most explicit of terms, exploring race, class, and gender in a way that I have not seen before.

I love Toni Morrison's style of prose, fusing poetry with narrative to show truth. The structure of the book was more so to showcase various lives of Black people and how those lives lived impact their actions. Pecola and her family are described by themselves and the world around them, but the narrative questions that label. What does it mean to be beautiful? What makes one desirable and one not and how does that affect their life outcomes? This book puts you into the skin of the forgotten, ruined, abandoned, and wicked. It can get ugly at times. That's the truth of it all, though. Morrison does not shy away from it one bit and it pays off in spades. I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time.

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