Rating: 
Summary: A powerful novel
Review: 'The bluest eye' was Toni Morrison's debut novel, and it was first published in 1970. 'The bluest eye' is a tragic, heartbreaking story. We meet the 11-year-old black girl Pecola Breedlove, and her world - filled with hatred and racism. Her story is not a happy one - her brothers have run away from home, and her drunkard father has sexually abused her. Pecola believes that if she only had blonde hair and blue eyes, all her other problems will go away' The characters are all very well developed, and one has to care deeply for them. The symbolism is easy to understand, and Morrison's prose is beautiful, subtle, and unique. This is a novel that leaves you thinking, wondering about the world we live in. Toni Morrison has quite rightfully won both the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prize. 'The bluest eye', was the third novel I read by Toni Morrison. Honestly, 'The bluest eye' is not her masterpiece (I think that the book 'Song of Solomon' is her best novel) but it is certainly worth reading! An enjoyable read!
Rating:
Summary: Well-written, extremely depressing subject
Review: After reading this book twice, once for a school assignment and once for my own pleasure, it successfully depressed me enough both times so I won't read it again. I can't say the book was bad, but I can't say I enjoyed it either. It was just one bad thing after another. I just have mixed feelings about this book altogether.
Rating:
Summary: The Bluest Eye
Review: For my AP English class I read "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison. I really liked this book. The style of writing by Morrison was different than most books that I have read in the past. She used a language that made the reader feel sorry for all the characters in the book. The book, however, was a mixture of angst, sadness, and truth. The characters that Morrison included were so innocent and unknowing of the world. When they finally experience it they are overcome with shock. The story is based around eleven year old Pecola Breedlove who is placed in the home of Claudia and Frieda MacTeer. All Pecola wants is blue eyes so that everyone will think she is beautiful instead of ugly. The MacTeer's befriend Pecola and become her only friends because her own family hates her. When her father rapes Pecola, the two girls find out that Pecola is pregnant and have no clue as to what to think. They finally decide that they want the baby to be ok so that they are able to validate their own blackness. Because of some very graphic scenes and language I would recommend this novel to high school age people up to elders. "The Bluest Eye" can really make someone realize how different each and every person really is.
Rating: 
Summary: The Eye of the Beholder
Review: I believe that Toni Morrison is one of the most challenging authors America has ever produced. She fails to ever talk down to her audience, but rather, challenge us to aspire to higher levels of meaning by writing challenging literature of the highest quality. Thus, "The Bluest Eye" falls into that category. As her first novel, Morrison herself suggests that at the time of her writing this, she was not advanced enough to handle the language, and therefore, finds it somewhat clumsy. The book I read was incredibly rich and deep, inspirational and chilling. We find one narrator of the story, a little girl named Claudia, retelling the events of a another black girl in her small Ohio town, and the horrible things that Pecola had to endure. Described by nearly every character in the novel as "ugly", Pecola's only wish is to have blue eyes, so that she can attain the societal expectation of "attractiveness". Pecola comes from a warped, unsupportive family, which thereby shapes Pecola's viewpoint and outlook on her own life. One thing Morrison does so efeectively in her novels is switch narrators whenever she sees fit. At times, Claudia tells us the story; at others, a third person narrator allows us to soar above the story and get more important information that a little girl may not be privvy too. At at times, we even learn about the events of the story through women who merely gossip the story. The effect allows us, the reader, to garner more informaton, some of it in personal ways, to allow us a grander sense of this story. Morrison's literature, in every sense of the word, challenges the reader at every turn. This is not a book to read lightly, or just dabble in. Because of her writing, and her writing style, she is able to make grand stories out of the most ordinary people; to give voice to those characters in literature most often overlooked or marginalized in our culture. Morrison must keep writing to allow those voices to ring clear, and add to the cacophany of voices that make America as strong as it is.
Rating:
Summary: give it a try..you might like it:)
Review: I don't think Toni Morrison could ever dissapoint her readers... Her writing style is so beautiful and poetic and although this might not be her best work (it is her first, after all) it is definetly a touching story that's worth reading. This novel will make you think about the notion of beauty: isn't society really the judge of what is beautiful & doesn't that notion change as society changes? The protagonist, a young black girl bereft of love from basically everyone, Pecola, wants more than anything in the world to have blue eyes, because she believes that blue eyes would make anyone beautiful. Her fate is a sad one & when she finally gets some "love" from a member of her family it leads to tragic consequences. The story is mainly told from the point of view of a child of around Pecola's age & I thought this was beneficial to the story because often very disturbing things are discussed with the innocence/naivete of a child. Then again, at other times the author does not go easy on the imagery when discussing very disturbing things. This book is not for everyone, but the prose is beautiful (as always in Ms. Morrison's works) and the story will teach the reader a thing or two about one of its main themes: the notion of beauty.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic - a work of art!
Review: I originally picked up this book by fluke. I was searching for a fiction novel to use for an English essay and decided to venture outside the suggested reading list - comprised of mostly 19th-20th century British litracists. Wow. Never before have a read such a masterfully created book! And to think this was her first. So well written - it conveys a message to all people of what beauty will do to us and the realities of these despicable societal norms. Well done - and worth the read - I finished it in a few sittings!
Rating:
Summary: The Bluest Eye
Review: I read the book The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, it was very sad, but it can help people realize how much physical appearance can mean to someone. This book relates to reality in many ways, such as problems within a family, and how some people don't like how they look. I think that this book can change how someone treats another because of their appearance. Also, I think that Toni Morrison is trying to tell her audience that instead of judging someone you should help them no matter what the circumstances may be, because you could end up changing their life. Even though the book took place in the 40's, it talks about a lot of problems that we still see happening today.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Deep
Review: I would DEFINITELY recommend The Bluest Eye to my peers. While reading this book I felt that Toni Morrison was trying to get her audience to realize that "Love" is the answer, and also instead of judging someone help your brother or sister in need no matter what the circumstance is.Because you never know how you could change their life. Eventhough the book takes place in the 40's it identifies with some of the issues the main character(Pecola) was going through and it is really hard to believe that roughly 63 years later our world is still like that. To really get the message across Morrison uses "Love is never any better than the lover" as a way to end the book and to me that is what makes Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye "Simply Deep".
Rating:
Summary: Magical, disturbing, insightful, sad, and worth every cent
Review: I'm not normally one for anything but a bestseller, tending to stick with things like "Da Vinci Code" or "Bark of the Dogwood," but lately I've been veering off into what is unchartered territory for me. "The bluest Eye" is one such example. Brought to life by Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye is an extremely powerful story that tackles some of the difficult challenges people face to this day. I thought the tale was an unforgettable one. Toni Morrison uses just enough detail to let The Bluest Eye stick out in a person's mind for a lifetime. The way the author writes allows a person to understand things very clearly. The Bluest Eye is the story of Pecola Breedlove, a very unfortunate looking, young black girl living in Ohio in the early 1900's. Pecola's one main wish in life is to have blue eyes, hence the title of the book. She spends her entire childhood praying for these blue eyes so she may look like Shirley Temple and the other blonde haired, blue eyed, white girls in school. Throughout the story, are small tales of Pecola's family past, and explanations of why her life is so horrible. The various tales are written in block form, though, and therefore are very easily distinguishable from one another. As I read this book, I was saddened by the horrific events that this poor girl has to encounter, and shocked by the way people treated African American girls in the past. This story relates to many problems teenagers, adults and children still have now days in our society. Racism, family problems and loving your heritage are highly discussed issues in this book.
I would recommend The Bluest Eye to anyone interested in reading books that tell true life stories. Though I thoroughly enjoyed this book, not everyone will. If you are not the type of person drawn into stories that may make you feel depressed or upset at the way things used to be, then I would not tell you to read this book. To like this book, you have to enjoy reading back to what things were like a couple decades ago, and the hardships people went through in public situations and at home. Also recommended: BARK OF THE DOGWOOD--A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens.
Rating:
Summary: Easily one of the best books I've ever read!!
Review: Ms. Morrison is pure genius! She can capture the spirit of a human being like few others. I am always in awe of what she writes. I loved "Song of Solomon" and "Love" also, but "The Bluest Eye" will always hold a very special place inside me.
Cindy Boyd
author of Letting the Dog Out
www.lettingthedogout.com
|
