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A review by lambchop12
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
4.5
Absolutely gorgeous writing and masterful direction from Toni Morrison’s debut novel. I don’t like to mark up books, but part of me wishes I did for this one because some sentences were just gorgeous to read.
The dark moments are handled with grace imo - although, if I can have one complaint keeping this from being a 5 star book it’s the fact that the poetic flow of the book doesn’t let up even during these horrific moments, making them seem a little less horrific to a more subjective eye?
In the edition I had, Morrison talks in an afterword about how she doesn’t just want people to pity Pecola, she wants them to reexamine themselves and the world around them and I think that was clear to me. Pecola Breedlove is one of the saddest characters I have ever read about, but a world in which a little girl isn’t protected from pain just because of how she looks is far sadder.
The dark moments are handled with grace imo - although, if I can have one complaint keeping this from being a 5 star book it’s the fact that the poetic flow of the book doesn’t let up even during these horrific moments, making them seem a little less horrific to a more subjective eye?
In the edition I had, Morrison talks in an afterword about how she doesn’t just want people to pity Pecola, she wants them to reexamine themselves and the world around them and I think that was clear to me. Pecola Breedlove is one of the saddest characters I have ever read about, but a world in which a little girl isn’t protected from pain just because of how she looks is far sadder.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, and Child abuse
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Fatphobia and Child death