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Summary: Toni Morrison's latest book "Paradise" is amazing.
Review: I feel that Morrison's latest book "Paradise" is am amazing literary creation. I have read others say that this book is confusing and not worth reading. Well I think that these people are not understanding the entire meaning of the text.
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Summary: WHAT?????
Review: I had heard Toni Morrison say that you should continue to read this book even if you didn't understand it. I finally gave up. Two-thirds of the way through I still had absolutely no idea what was going on, nor did I care about any of the characters. I really hated this book.
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Summary: We knew it WAS NOT an easy read!
Review: We were aware that Toni Morrison is one of the great literary authors of all time but also aware that her books are not an easy read. Not all 14 members ITCOMS finished the book nor did everyone understand all of the book or the same parts of the book. There were Post-it notes and pieces of paper hanging out of everyone's copy. The discussion of the book was so lively and engaging, that the members who had not finished reading Paradise wanted to rush home and finish. Our consensus: it really was a good book, Deep and confusing but a really good book. We had strayed off our beaten path and it worked out OK.
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Summary: Interesting. Not her best . . . but interesting.
Review: Ms. Morrison's latest, "Paradise", is evocative and personal. I thought the novel very worthy, as did my grandmother, my father and my sister. True, it wasn't the great masterpiece of the decade. True, it was sometimes a bit tedious. True, it is a book worthy of attention. But this book is not excrement. Nor is it verbose. Nor is it simply the bible of pretension. Reading over many of the reader reviews, I noticed the development of a quasi-political establishment: the worshipers and the heretics. I am certain that Ms. Morrison had no intentions of writing a book devoted to the interests of intellectual snobbery. Books, real ones, aren't written in the style of grand philosophical essays. They are art, embroidered with subdued, personable intellectual threads. In short, one shouldn't feel an intellegence hammer crashing over one's head. If this happens, this is not a piece of literary fiction . . . it is a dry sermon. Paradise, while being very thoughtful, is not a bible and Ms. Morrison, while delivering a message, is not a preacher. To the worshippers: Toni Morrison is not a deity. To the heretics: neither are you.
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Summary: Magical realism in a contemporary American voice
Review: After glancing through other readers' comments, I concluded that perhaps "Paradise" should have come with a warning label: NOT FOR VIEWERS OF DAYTIME TELEVISION. Oprah clearly overestimated her audience on this one. But I can't fault her taste in literature; "Paradise" is without a doubt one of the greatest American novels of the 20th century. I would love to re-read this book in the context of a university course or discussion group; its many strands and layers justify considerable critical thought and analysis. Some areas a thoughtful book group might explore include: -- Free will vs. predestination, and how these centuries-old themes come vividly to life in the clash of generations in the town of Ruby -- Magical realism, and especially how it applies to the characters at the Convent; the conflict between their mysterious female world of domestic magic and the male-dominated Old Guard of Ruby -- The terrible irony of how this all-black "Paradise" ends up reflecting the very problems of white-dominated society it sought to escape -- The theme of rebirth and renewal that runs throughout the history of both Ruby and the Convent I believe that "Paradise", in its depth and complexity, takes Toni Morrison's writing a quantum leap beyond "Beloved." This novel deserves serious study, multiple re-readings, and further discussion wherever possible. Like the plays of Shakespeare, it works on many levels; decoding each layer helps lead the reader into a better understanding of the next.
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Summary: For intellectual wanna-bes
Review: I love how all of the people who claim to like and understand this book focus their reviews on insulting the intelligence and sophistication of readers who did not like it. If these people were so intellectually superior, they would focus their critique on the substance of the book and not feel the need to attack the intelligence of those of us who did not care for this book. I posted a review two months ago begging someone to explain the ending of this book to me. No one has been able to. After reading such childish reviews, I am proud to be in the "simple minded" category.
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Summary: A very complex and mulitlevel literary wonder
Review: I do not find many books to be interesting and stimulating enough to even write a review about them. However, this book is a very exquisite piece of fiction. If you are reading these reviews and have doubts about this book, please read it. There are so many symbols, and various structural levels to the book that a less experienced reader would find it impossible. If you consider yourself a sophisticated reader, you will certainly love this.
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Summary: THANK GOD I HAD TO STUDY THIS AT UNIVERSITY.
Review: How I remember the way people were forced to read books by dead white european males, like Shakespeare or Dante or George Eliot. But all those guys are boring because they don't write about America, also they are so culturally limited and don't want to look outside their own narrow boundaries.I think we should have the freedom to read what we like, and basically Western Civilisation courses should be banned from university campuses because people are offended by them.Finally I think Toni Morrison was extremely insightful when she said that Bill Clinton was 'our first Black President', after all the main cause of death among black males is being killed by other black males, and Bill Clinton certainly sent plenty of black men to the gas chamber in Arkansas.
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Summary: totally confusing
Review: the author has some sort of problem with light skin and dark skin, this is all she expoused throughout the book, there are many, many, many beautiful colors of black people and light skin isn't the prettiest...get over it! what a sorry book!
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Summary: Sophomoric
Review: I tried and failed again. I cannot get through Ms. Morrison's books without frustrating effort, and sometimes not at all. Her writing is sophomoric and lacks the finesse of a truly gifted author. She owes a huge debt of gratitude to Oprah for her support. Paradise, like Jazz, was a waste of money and time.
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