Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

797 reviews

dark emotional sad 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: Yes

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emotional sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark 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

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I just finished The Bluest Eye, and was honestly speechless after reading it. I'll definitely read more books by Toni Morrison - this book was a huge success to me.

I don't know how to explain it well... But in many ways this book reminded me of Go Tell It On the Mountain by James Baldwin. It's the same structure in both stories, and they both handle issues regarding being Black in the US. The Bluest Eye has a unique way to tell the story, that I truly enjoy.

The Bluest Eye was phenomonal, and just what I wanted to read. The story hit me so hard, and I'm still recovering from the impact. It was tragic, infuriating, and awful to read - but in the best way.  The plot is so sad and the characters so fleshed out, you feel for them.

I rated it 5 stars. I have no complaints - I only wish I read it sooner.

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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: Complicated

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dark
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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trapdorr's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 44%

I just wasn’t engaged. Felt like I was forcing myself to put it on each time. The prose was good but so long at times that I forgot the plot/what was happening at the time. The lack of continual timeline/character perspective kept losing me. 

After the novels I’ve been reading lately I don’t think I had the attention to give a novel that didn’t immediately hook me. I hope to come back to this someday with a better mindset because I genuinely believe it is a story worth being heard. 

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Somehow I’ve never read this book so I jumped at the chance when I was gifted a copy by BookBrowse. The book is described as the story of a young Black girl named Pecola who desperately wants the blond hair and blue eyes she associates with beauty. While Pecola is supposed to be the main character, she barely shows up in the book and is not the book’s narrator (who instead is another child, Claudia). Instead, we’re offered the stories of Pecola’s parents, as well as the parents of Claudia and her sister Frieda - and how their parents’ upbringing, experiences, and parenting styles led to the girls’ view on self beauty.

It’s incredibly sad to think of any child (or adult) doubting their own self worth because of societal values, and specifically something as beautiful as skin color. I can relate on other levels and certainly as a parent of a child who similarly struggles.

Morrison’s writing is lovely and poetic though, for me, challenging. I did not understand the ending and ended up spending a bit of time online learning more. It then all came together but I would have liked to have been able to decipher that myself.

All in all, I’m glad to have read The Bluest Eye

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