Take a photo of a barcode or cover
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity, Miscarriage
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I want to protect Pecola so badly. She didn’t deserve any of this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Racism, Rape
Moderate: Classism
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I picked up this book because it is the February book club choice for the “Banned Books Book Club”, also because I’ve never read Toni Morrison before. Morrison is an incredible writer, she evokes so much emotion and imagery. This book is truly devastating. My heart breaks for Pecola. This is a book that will leave you thinking about, and dissecting its words for a long time.
Morrison was inspired to write this book after a conversation she had as a child with a friend who wanted blue eyes. Morrison states in her authors note “The Bluest Eye was my effort to say something about that. To say that something about why she had not, or possibly ever would have, the experience of what she possessed and why she prayed for an alteration. Implicit in her desire was racial self-loathing.”
Morrison was inspired to write this book after a conversation she had as a child with a friend who wanted blue eyes. Morrison states in her authors note “The Bluest Eye was my effort to say something about that. To say that something about why she had not, or possibly ever would have, the experience of what she possessed and why she prayed for an alteration. Implicit in her desire was racial self-loathing.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence
Way more pedophilia than I was original expecting even after the second true sentence of the story. Fairly graphic pedophilic rape scene from the rapists POV. Some animal abuse. And of course racism/colorism. And yes, I got it and I hope everyone would now that she even explains it in the Forward, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree it was done in the best way. Even Morrison doesn’t love how she told this story after the fact*. I’m still excited to read some of her other works because her writing and story telling is good and I assume only gets better but this book, in this day, was a miss for me.
*“My solution—break the narrative into parts that had to be reassembled by the reader—seemed to me a good idea, the execution of which does not satisfy me now. Besides, it didn’t work: many readers remain touched but not moved.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism
Moderate: Rape
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Violence
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An unflinching and beautifully written exploration of race and caste in 20th century America.
Heart breaking and thought-provoking. I’ll be honest, this is one of those books that is difficult to review because I don’t want to flatten the novel down into a blurb. It is complex and layered, full of social and cultural commentary.
Absolutely worth a read. I’ll be sitting with this one for a while.
Heart breaking and thought-provoking. I’ll be honest, this is one of those books that is difficult to review because I don’t want to flatten the novel down into a blurb. It is complex and layered, full of social and cultural commentary.
Absolutely worth a read. I’ll be sitting with this one for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape
Can’t believe this is my first Toni Morrison especially because it was as good as I expected it to be
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Excrement, Abandonment