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A review by hfjarmer
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
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