Sula

Rating:
Summary: Difficult, but Well Worth It
Review: I think Toni Morrison is America's greatest living author. Perhaps she is the greatest living woman author. Surely she is in the top three. Although "Sula" isn't my favorite Morrison work, I think it is one of Morrison's most complicated and one of her richest. Those who read Morrison must remember she is a classicist and approach her as such. Not to do so only creates needless problems for the reader and Morrison can be difficult to read, though always enjoyable and always superb.

On it's surface, "Sula" is the story of two black women who remain lifelong friends despite their obvious differences and the different way in which each pursues her life. Set in an Ohio community called, The Bottom, "Sula" follows these two women, Sula Peace and Nel Wright, from childhood to marriage to old age to death.

Nel is the conformist in this oddly matched pair. She marries and raises a family in the place of her birth. Outwardly, at least, she seems to need no more than husband and children and community to make her happy. She adapts. Sula, on the other hand, is a far different story.

Sula is a woman who feels the need to escape, to break free of whatever binds her. And, if her breaking free involves pain...for herself or for others, then so be it. She moves from The Bottom, goes to college and becomes the epitome of everything that Nel is not...in short, Sula becomes a waton seductress. For Sula, hell is stability; for Nel, hell is change.

Is either woman happy with her choices in life? No, not entirely, and we do find echoes of Nel in Sula and echoes of Sula in Nel. Though it's not obvious at first glance, the women are really two sides of the same coin. One came up "heads," the other, "tails." Both women are, however, black Americans and both are proud to be black Americans. It is how they express their heritage, and their love for each other, that differs.

Morrison is a masterful writer and her handling of the character of Sula is miraculous. We could have so easily come to hate this wanton women, we could have so easily come to have seen her as the stereotypical seductress, the temptress, the tramp. Yet Morrison manages, somehow, to endow Sula with a humanity and a beauty that shines through all her artifice and pain.

For me, "Sula" is a book about choices and the problems of living with those choices. It is about loving someone who chooses a very different path in life than we do and what is needed to keep that love alive...or even if it can be kept alive. Sula and Nel are both beautiful characters and both are vibrantly alive. Both want desperately to hold onto their love for each other, but fate and circumstances make it increasingly difficult. The story of Sula's and Nel's growth from child to adult to old age is the thread that ties the other stories in this book into one seamless whole.

Although "Sula" could be seen as an allegory or metaphor for the rediscovery of the core self of black America, I feel the characters, themselves are too rich, to fully-drawn, to alive, to call this book an allegory. Perhaps on some level, it is, but Morrison is a writer of literature, not genre fiction.

All of Toni Morrison's books are masterpieces and all can be read on many levels. "Sula" is no exception. It is a difficult book but one that is both beautiful and tragic and worth every second any reader spends with it. I really can't recommend "Sula," or any other Morrison book, highly enough.

Rating:
Summary: Poetry disguised as prose.
Review: Oprah must have just realized that she had somehow overlooked this gem by Toni Morrison; a huge oversight. I haven't read everything by Toni Morrison. I read Sula first, and it spoiled me for anything else. I've read other books by Toni Morrison, but none that I've read so far come close to Sula. Ms. Morrison's beautiful use of language, exploration of the human heart, and dissection of a community in this book have not been matched by herself or any other author that I've read. The dogeared condition of my copy of Sula speak to how often I've re-read this work. It is more like a beautiful poem than a work of prose.

Rating:
Summary: Great Heartfelt Novel
Review: I read this novel for my AP English class and I was glad I did. This novel blurs the lines between conventional good and evil. Sula is supposed to the evil one and Nel the good but their actions sometimes do quite the opposite. For example, Sula killed a boy (evil) but did it by accident when she was playing with him so he wouldn't be lonely (good), for Nel just wanted him to go away (evil). When Sula realized she had killed him, she was broken-hearted (good) but Nel didn't care about it except for the fact that someone might have seen them (evil). Yes it might seem that I am painting Sula to be a good person but she isn't for she did sleep with her best friend's husband. Sula kept the town together for without the bad example of her ways, wives neglected husbands and mothers neglected children.

One theme is of a mother's love but in this way too, Morrison blurs the line. Eve cut off her leg to raise money to care for her children and she jumped out a window to save her burning daugther, yet killed her son, Plum, when she realized his drug addiction was turning him into a child again.

This novel will make you think. It's packed with irony, symbolism, and many themes. A sad one being why a town is called "The Bottom" when it is in reality on top of a hill. This is a heartfelt story of two young women who grow up with different backgrounds, coming together out of necessity. Sula is a novel that will make you laugh, cry, and feel confused with your emotions. Its a wonderful book and I wish it hadn't ended so quickly.

Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: i love toni morrison. i think the bluest eye is the best book of all time. unfortunately, sula is a frustrating read. there is little to no character development and it is impossible to understand this supposed friendship, let alone care about it. the plot is disconnected and the long shift in time does not serve the story well. i would not reccomend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: A contemporary author worth studying
Review: Morrison amazes me every time I read one of her novels. Paradise is by far her best novel, so deep and complex and moving and all together connected and finished. Sula may not be on that scale, but it is, none the less, a complex and deep story that is worth studying and looking deeper into.

The book is a tale of two women and their friendship. A literary author like Morrison pays attention to detail. Their names are the first clue. Nel Wright and Sula Peace. Their names are ironically contrived to portray what is not there for the two characters. Wright would mean 'right', which Nel is not throughout the book (except, perhaps, at the end), and Peace is the opposite of what Sula is and how she interacts with the society she lives in. Both are ironic names meant to identify with what the characters are not.

Anyway, Morrison does a wonderful job creating this story. Her writing is so literary and powerful, being extremely concise with every word she choses. Convictions, emotion, sentimentality and passion are all felt and believed. In the end the story wraps full around and creates a feeling of completeness despite the despicable woman that Sula was. Nel's realization at the end of the novel is a moral lesson that is all to often overlooked and ignored. Without giving anything away, it is a realization that more people need to come to instead of turning to and lumping everyone into the category of hate. The relationships we build are cumulative and the meaningful times should not be forgotten despite who the person has become.

A recommend for anyone looking for a deep, complex and fun read, all the while remaining completely accesible for everyone.

Rating:
Summary: The audio version is not for the moderately hearing impaired
Review: I'm sure I would have loved this book. Unfortunately, the audio recording was not loud enough for me to distinguish the words being spoken. I have a "moderate" hearing impairment. I always listen to my books while I drive, as I travel a great deal on business. Even with my audio in full volume, it just didn't work out. Guess I'll have to resort the print version someday when I'm retired. The one-star rating I assigned is a single vote of confidence that the author probably produced a good work.

Rating:
Summary: Sula Review
Review: My group and i think that Sula by Toni Morrison is a spectacular and very interesting novel. Morrison's style in Sula deeply specifies her one and only subject, which goes to mostly african american women as well as women of all races. To our opinion Sula clearly tells us that nobody should depand on somebody else's actions to change or make things work better for you. Self determination is a very important quality and should be a part of everybody's character.

We personally think that Sula should definitely be a part of the high school curriculum. Sula grabs students attention and its poetic style makes it easy for teachers to also teach literature.It also helps the students expand their vocabulary to a higher level.It teaches about culture, people and places of the 1920's and on and how situations were handled when in struggle.Another important reason why Sula should be part of the high school program is because, students at such age should alredy be mature enough to take the indecent moments with a serious and grown up attitude.


Rating:
Summary: skillful writing still makes this an only O.K book
Review: Toni Morrison's Sula is a tragic novel that follows two best friends, Sula and Nel, through their difficult lives. Morrison uses vivid images to show the friends divergent and harsh lives and eventual betrayal of Nel by Sula. Nel decides to live her life as a homemaker and takes pride in her man while Sula goes away to college and lives in the big cities of Chicago and Detroit. When Sula comes back to town after ten years her loose moral code temporarily throws the town asunder. The town quickly reacts by becoming a close knit community that despises Sula for seducing their men in a minute and then leaving them just as quickly. Sula's unchaste mannerisms give the town a common enemy to loath and instead of breaking up families with cheating husbands Sula's actions just bring them closer together. When Sula dies Nel tries to forgive and forget while the town around her eases back into normal life without Sula.
Toni Morrison is an impressive writer and does not fail the reader in Sula. Her dark and masterful words convey an image of the Bottom that is not soon forgotten but possibly not for the best reasons. While obviously a skilled writer Morrison can overwhelm the senses with certain vile scenes in Sula coupled with her skill in creating such a clear picture of that vile scene.

Main ideas Haiku:

Clever seductress
Sula sways everyone's man
Brings town together

Nel so sad and scared
Can not get over husband
No understanding

Very gruesome times
Someone is always on fire
Life on the bottom


Rating:
Summary: Sula the destroyer
Review: Toni Morrison's heartbreaking tragedy Sula is the gripping tale of two childhood friends, Sula Pearce and Nel Wright, whose paths lead them into completely different adult lifestyles and are who destined for a chaotic and tumultuous relationship when they are reunified after years of separation. On the one hand, Nel, following in the footsteps of her mother, remains in her hometown of Medallion, marries, and becomes a respected member of the community. On the other hand Sula rebels against the "social norms", escaping Medallion to go to college and chasing after men. Needless to say, both women relate to each other in a completely different way when they are reunited, and they must ultimately pay a price for their choices in life. The story can bring a tear to one's cheek, laughter to their mouth and an ache in their heart all at the same time. Sula is an excellent and highly recommended read.

Haiku:

Sula Pearce steals Jude
Nel catches them in the act
Jude leaves with Sula

Plum is burned alive
Eva did the dirty deed
They all burn like Plum

Rating:
Summary: Uncommon Truthful Insight
Review: Toni Morrison lunges to the heart of the culture present at the heart of the African American societal woes in the early 1920s to the 1960s in Sula. Her depiction of life is desperately unyielding to the desire of relief for which the reader begs as she reveals the ultimate human faults. The main character of Sula for which the book is named, does not enter the narrative until after her childhood best friend of Nel is brought into view. Nel has been taught by her mother to understand that life is constructed of manners, depriving her of the same freedom afforded Sula by her loose mother. Sula and Nel develop a strong bond of friendship which is tested by love, hate, death and eventually betrayal. Sula acquiesces to possessive nature of women with their men after she unknowingly seduces Nel's husband Jude. Ultimately the true nature of the novel is revealed as the destitution of life with all of the horrible mistakes, tragedy and prejudice is cleansed by time.


Haiku

Possession and lust
To whom does the blame belong
Promise is fallen

Women's wrath from pain
Takes on form of false pity
Revealed in vengeance