Rating: 
Summary: Truly wonderful
Review: After reading Paradise, I now know why more than a few have thought so bad of it. I can see how people would find it boring or difficult or not worth it simply because those were my exact sentiments at the end of Jazz. Since then, for various reasons (including the persistence of some good friends) I've gone back and read all of Morrison's books and in the process have learned to read. Beloved, Song of Solomon, Sula; these are works that have a simple requirement of the reader - to relax, trust, and enjoy the language, the people within. Enjoy each page. In the great works, morsels of truth are scattered along, not concentrated in the end. While some authors give you that token in the last paragraph so you can say "Ah," Morrison asks you to gather as you read. And if you weren't gathering all along there'd rarely be anything for you at the end. Her novels have taught me not only to read each other, but to read the works of so many others great ones, who (whether or not they sew up the book with That Satisfying Ending) have always reserved their best hidden in various passages, waiting for the patient and perceptive to discover, quite often in the 2nd, 3rd or 5th reading. Of all her books, I think Paradise would be the most inappropriate for someone looking for a traditionally satisfying read. And since I'd really hate for more people to close the book disappointed (those things are expensive, aren't they?) I'd recommend Song of Solomon first, then Sula, then Beloved, and then Paradise, a truly wonderful experience, and quite possibly her best.
Rating: 
Summary: An extremely difficult read but a good one nonetheless
Review: Toni Morrison made a grave error while writing Paradise-she left too much of the translation (and trust me, there's A LOT) to the reader. To the causal reader, the novel is almost completely indiscernible due to the very complex and very confusing plot structure and lack of an active narrative voice. So did I understand Paradise? Yes, but only after carefully picking it apart chapter by chapter in one of my English seminars. Even now, I'm not so sure that I truly comprehend all of the book's themes. And do I understand the ending? Yes, but only after wading through hours of various interviews with Morrison in which she discussed her book to great length. Most importantly, was the book worth the read? I believe so, but I devoted a lot of work to Paradise before arriving at this conclusion. Morrison's writing style is not to be taken lightly; words and themes often contain several, and sometimes seemingly infinitesimal, levels of meaning. The bottom line is that what you take away from Paradise, if anything, is up to you. If you want to walk away from this novel with any sort of satisfaction, be prepared to commit a lot though and research to the undertaking. Now, I'm not going to discuss the novel's meanings here for those who don't have the time or the will to put in the sort of work I'm talking about because doing so would far exceed the 1,000 word limit that amazon.com allows for these reviews. (I wrote 10 pages alone for my seminar on the theme of sexuality as a form of female submission and still had plenty of material left over to work with.) Whether Morrison has overextended her literary license with Paradise is debatable, but I would encourage you, the reader, to devote some effort to the reading. Who knows, you might find something worth keeping. I sure did.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book
Review: I want to start off by saying that Toni Morrison is an author that only the brave try to read and understand. I've read Sula, Bluest Eye, and I am still trying to figure out Song of Solomon. I really did enjoy them all. Yet, some people may complain about her style of writing or the fact that "Paradise" has an enormous amount of characters, but I see it another way. "Paradise" is a beautiful story about the choices that people make and how they affect community; it's a story about following your heart. I know, in my case, that as I read the story, I was constantly finding that I had something in common with each of her characters. From Soane Morgan's indecisiveness to Roger Best's desire to please, to Pallas Truelove's search for true love. Each character has its purpose in the story no matter how small a part. And that is one of the things that makes "Paradise" a well-written book. Sure Morrison could have clearly left some of the characters out of the story but the story would not have been the same. Morrison is known for taking readers on a trip where they are constantly traveling back and forth through time. But I was okay with it because I took a few notes. I also found myself captured by each character's story, which made it a hard book to put down. I believe that "Paradise" is a work of poetry. The prose of life. The story of pride and prejudices. The exploration of cause and effect. All these things are intertwined in the story because these are the things that make life what it is. And these things are so successfully used by Morrison in the book, that Paradise will always be a read that forces you to reflect on your own life after you are done.
I will not lie and say that "Paradise" is an easy book to follow or that it is a book that you will only have to read once to understand. I read it for the third time and I am still pick up on things in the story that I either overlooked or didn't understand. And the shocking part is that each time I read the story, I find that it is just as intriguing and interesting as it was the first time. But that's what great about Toni Morrison books. It takes time and dedication to read.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant sorrow... and hope
Review: I loved this book. Like other Morrison novels Paradise has a good deal to say about misdirected anger, about turning harm inward (like The Bluest Eye) or in an arbitrary outward direction (like Song of Solomon) or upon the ones we most love (like Beloved). But central to this story is the dangerous notion of creating a paradise on earth. Things fall apart, the center will not hold.
The prose is lush and the story not so hard as some might lead you to believe. I found I didn't need to worry about knowing who was doing what when; I merely had to trust the story to hand itself into my heart. Which it does. And there is redemption here, this is not a fatalistic vision to my eyes.
A second read? Yes, of course. Always read the good ones more than once and they will be better. When I read it again, I can come back and rate this novel the 10 it surely deserves.
Rating: 
Summary: Is Paradise Lost?
Review: I must preface my review by admitting I've only read Paradise once.
The writing is the same brilliant and disorienting/nonlinear style as the rest of Morrison's oeuvre. What seemed most aberrant in her first post-Nobel Prize novel was, though it was highly intellectually stimulating, for me "Paradise" lacked the connection to the heart that is inseparable from her previous books. It seemed to try to meet expectations the public would have of a Nobel Prize Laureate. (Who can blame her? She remains a wonder.) But to me it was a bit forced, especially with an (overly?) dramatic opening line "They shoot the white girl first."
I will read any novel Morrison writes, they are all worth reading, including Paradise, but if you are new to her, you would be best off starting with Song of Solomon, Sula, and then Beloved.
Rating: 
Summary: Paradise Review by Stephanie Hamilton
Review: I read Paradise for a project in my English class. The book was very difficult for the fact that it seems like Toni Morrison switched topics every few pages. With all of the different characters coming in and out of the convent and the town it was hard to keep up with what was going on with who. I just didn't care for the book at all. If i had to tell someone whether they should read the book I would definitely tell them not to read the book.
Rating:
Summary: Rather difficult read..
Review: After reading all the good reviews and the fact that this book was on some cool people's list mania lists - I really wanted to read it and to like it. But after having bought it, I found it rather difficult to follow and understand.
The charachters keep coming in and it's hard to keep track of who's who. You know they are all going to come together in the convent somehow but it's still hard to follow and make a connection. I consider myself to be an avid reader and reasonably intellectual but unfortunately I could not bring myself to finish this book. Maybe in a few years time I'll come back to it and understand it better!
Rating: 
Summary: Unfortunate read
Review: As much as I wanted to like this book, I could not overcome its racist and hurtful depictions of black men. I was very offended by the depictions of black men, and as a black man who has never been to jail or had any ill-will toward black women, I was surprised that all of the black males in the book ar depicted as misogynistic and cruel, almost apish criminals or cretins. This book reminds me of racist literature from the 1890s-1920s that I read in my Whiteness Studies class. Such racist books written by white authors who sought to foment race riots (meaning violence by whites against blacks). The tone of this book is quite similar, which is shameful and all too eerie. To think that a gifted black author is writing literature no different than literature that Grand Wizards of the Klu Klux Klan wrote in 1919 says something very harrowing about the publishing industry, something I had not realized before. I expected her worldview to be a bit more like Mark Twain's than David Duke's.
Rating:
Summary: I've read it twice
Review: This book was very enlightening. I really enjoy all of Toni Morrison's books but this one is by far my favorite. There was so much to absorb here, I learned a great deal about the early years, after slavery but, before the "Civil Rights Movement". I'm sure that when you read this book you will be hooked on Toni Morrison books forever. There are so many levels to this story. Each character is significant in his/her own way. There was no wasted space in this book. Every page was worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: must read - at least twice
Review: This is well worth the time to read slowly. It is an intricate plot with many things going on at once. There are a lot of characters (too many?) and it can be hard to follow. I recommend taking notes. The second time I read it, I understood it better and decided I liked it. The first time, I was unsure but it did produce a strong reaction. Men will enjoy it but women of all colors will really appreciate the story. This was the first of her books that I read. I just bought 3 others based on my experience with this one.
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