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A review by mszy_reads
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
5.0
This book kind of made me want to die, but it was exceptionally well-written and made me feel a lot of feelings.
Genre: Coming-of-Age, Tragedy
What I loved about it:
◑ The way Pecola’s present-day story is recorded in sections showing the passing of the seasons, with flashbacks into other characters’ backstories spattered between the events in Pecola’s life.
◑ The way Morrison gives the backgrounds for even the most horrible of characters, so that the reader can see why they turned out that way. There is no “good and evil,” just shades of lives damaged by racism, sexism, abuse, and beauty standards.
◑ The simplicity and straight-forwardness of the storytelling. There is almost a detached air to how Morrison tells the story. She is stating the unfiltered reality of everything that happens: “The Breedloves did not live in a storefront because they were having temporary difficulty adjusting to the cutbacks at the plant. They lived there because they were poor and black, and they stayed there because they believed they were ugly.” I did not have to try to decipher what Morrison was trying to say, she directly says what she means, and I love literature like this.
◑ Pecola. This character is so sweet and pure which makes it all the more painful to see her fall victim to a broken society and family that failed her.
This book had so many powerful quotes; here one on the theme of beauty, “Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another—physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion.” (122)
The Bluest Eye does not hold back. This book is HEAVY, but it moved me emotionally in a way that has changed my fundamental understanding of society, race, femininity, and America.
TW: There is a LOT of sexual violence in this book. It was very triggering for me to read at times, but I had to read it for a college literature course. More triggers including incest, alcohol abuse, domestic abuse, racism, infant death, child abuse, and animal abuse.
Note: This review is part of my blog post, "My Top 3 Favorite Hard-Hitting 'Modern Classics.'" Check out the full post for other emotional recommendations I have.
Bookstagram: @mszy.reads
Genre: Coming-of-Age, Tragedy
What I loved about it:
◑ The way Pecola’s present-day story is recorded in sections showing the passing of the seasons, with flashbacks into other characters’ backstories spattered between the events in Pecola’s life.
◑ The way Morrison gives the backgrounds for even the most horrible of characters, so that the reader can see why they turned out that way. There is no “good and evil,” just shades of lives damaged by racism, sexism, abuse, and beauty standards.
◑ The simplicity and straight-forwardness of the storytelling. There is almost a detached air to how Morrison tells the story. She is stating the unfiltered reality of everything that happens: “The Breedloves did not live in a storefront because they were having temporary difficulty adjusting to the cutbacks at the plant. They lived there because they were poor and black, and they stayed there because they believed they were ugly.” I did not have to try to decipher what Morrison was trying to say, she directly says what she means, and I love literature like this.
◑ Pecola. This character is so sweet and pure which makes it all the more painful to see her fall victim to a broken society and family that failed her.
This book had so many powerful quotes; here one on the theme of beauty, “Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another—physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion.” (122)
The Bluest Eye does not hold back. This book is HEAVY, but it moved me emotionally in a way that has changed my fundamental understanding of society, race, femininity, and America.
TW: There is a LOT of sexual violence in this book. It was very triggering for me to read at times, but I had to read it for a college literature course. More triggers including incest, alcohol abuse, domestic abuse, racism, infant death, child abuse, and animal abuse.
Note: This review is part of my blog post, "My Top 3 Favorite Hard-Hitting 'Modern Classics.'" Check out the full post for other emotional recommendations I have.
Bookstagram: @mszy.reads