Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - The Bluest Eye

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings on this book, and none of them are great. I think I just don’t jive with Morrison’s writing. I STRUGGLED halfway through Beloved before calling it quits because I was MISERABLE. This book was at least more coherent and I could *mostly* keep track of who was who, very much unlike Beloved.

Now, are the themes explored here very important, and are the events that take place absolutely vile? Yes times 100. But I found myself truly not caring. These characters did not at all feel real to me, and I couldn’t tell you one defining characteristic that makes one different from another. What happens to Pecola? Absolutely disgusting. But I didn’t care. And as a survivor of SA, that hurts me to say. But she didn’t feel real, so the act didn’t feel real, despite all the gory details.

Morrison has a way with words, she really does. She can certainly paint a picture that will stay with you for a lifetime. But the character development was so lacking that I didn’t care what happened to the characters. And I don’t have enough big brain energy for all the reading between the lines that I feel her work requires.

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penofpossibilities's review against another edition

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dark sad

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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hngisreading's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

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maaaaccccc's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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willschlesinger's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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booknerd_therapist'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? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was recently a subject of controversy (read: banned), so the local book store owner held a book club for it and ordered a bunch of copies. I didn't make it to the club but bought it anyway.

I can see why white people are so disturbed by it. *I* am disturbed by it and I was prepared (somewhat) for controversial issues.

When I sit with and look past my discomfort.... what is underneath that is wonderment that white children are so shielded from the horrors black children are exposed to regularly.* I can see why white parents are so reactive.... if their white children had any idea what their black friends, teammates, frenemies, etc had to live with, it would shatter everything their mostly-white schools, churches, sports teams, etc were trying to teach them about the world and their place in it.

I do recommend this to my white friends because I believe it is equally valuable to any non-fiction antiracist book when it comes to challenging racism. And it is a beautiful work on its own. Just be prepared to sit with your discomfort.

*One of the recurring themes in the book is sexual abuse. I feel the need to give a disclaimer that sexual abuse is absolutely not a racial issue, but rather an issue children in general are exposed to. Part of the author's overall goal is to speak to the lives of children and their inherent vulnerability.

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