Rating: 
Summary: Toni, you've done better
Review: I bailed out on this one halfway through. I didn't care about any of the characters or situations and saw no purpose in continuing. Toni Morrison is an interesting author who has written several better novels.
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Summary: A gripping, lyrical, secretive novel.
Review: My thoughts on Ms. Morrison's Paradise can be summarized into three distinct ways: empathizing with the women who lived in the convent, understanding their individual tragedies and learning the secret - that is, let their feelings of Paradise penetrate you (see if you can achieve the status of being inlet to the womens' stories).As the story begins with the assault on the convent, you don't quite understand why what is happening is happening. Until you continue on to Mavis (and her battered wife stories), and Seneca and Divine and Consolata, and learn about their individual tragedies. Empathizing with each one. I felt I was reading the stories of a "circle of friends," the nature of which was bound by friendship, love and strength inside the convent. I thought the use of Latin in Consolata was brilliant - almost as if I can hear her praying to God for salvation. Salvation, perhaps, from the tragedy of losing her baby. Or salvation from guilt she felt for having men in her life who did not love her. It was an almost lyrical quality in the story. The ability to understand these stories; like how Mavis had to leave her life because she had been to a hospital fifteen times (four for childbirth) for being beaten is important. It enables you to clearly see the way in which Paradise is so important to these ladies. Once you reach the end, and find the rapid, racing pace at which the assault on the convent begins (and more of its details), you feel a sense of security that surrounds the safety of these women and you don't want it to be violated. By this point in the book, I felt I became one of the characters. You feel assaulted in your own Paradise because you know the secrets. You also know, understand and appreciate the struggles and ensuing salvations it took to get you to this point. Absolutely one of the finest novels I've read in a long time.
Rating: 
Summary: This novel is a well written, intriguing piece of literature
Review: Toni Morrison dared to force readers to think, engage and rethink. Something that Americans are no longer used to doing. The small town, Ruby portrays the same qualities that the "Crucible" dared tackle many years ago. Morrison intricatly weaves a story built on complex and well structured sentences. I found my vocabulary increasing significantly page after page. If a reader does not want to be challenged then this is not a book for you. If a reader gets pleasure not only from the actual plot, but the style of writing, and the uses of symbolism and irony, then this is a book for you. Please, do not let Morrisons sentence structure scare you away. Stick to it, and the satisfaction of completing the novel will be like completing the Boston Marathon.
Rating:
Summary: Get Lost in Paradise
Review: Although it was somewhat difficult to keep track of all the characters in the beginning, this book is certainly worth the effort. As I delved deeper into the novel, I began to realize how the characters intertwine with one another. This novel is the first that I have read by Toni Morrison, but it certainly will not be the last. There are few books that I read more than once, but this is the exception to my rule.
Rating:
Summary: There's Reward in the Journey
Review: Enough of Oprah and the media hype surrounding this book. It is a work of art--genius. With the accessibility of novels like this to the general population it is easy to think that everyone will be able to appreciate and enjoy this book. It isn't for everyone and if you can't get through it don't fault the author. Like anything good, this novel needs time and concentration--two things most of us, post-college, do not have. But if you have the inclination--do not deprive yourself of this magical journey.
Rating:
Summary: A tightly woven story that only Toni Morrison can tell.
Review: I was first warned, by O.Winfrey, that the first 100 pages of this novel were very hard to get past. Wrong. It is the first 100 pages that kept me so enraptured. With each new female character I met I was much too anxious to get to the convent.
Rating:
Summary: Strangely Touching
Review: This book is hard to write about, but I wanted to thank the reader from Milford, Conn., whose review April 12 has such a nice way of putting things. Toni Morrison seems to be edging in this book into a realm exemplified by how we feel when we are born and maybe how we feel when we are dying -- not completely "one of them" who we see around us, and at the same time very fully ourselves, although not sure precisely who that is. Embodying this in-between state of being, her characters are mostly outsiders who are fully aware of their insides. I think Toni Morrison is saying that this illuminating, private paradise may return at times in quiet or intense moments, and is one of the great gifts and puzzlements of being human. The last page of the story I reread several times, and I deeply felt this wisdom or this recognition, and it was extremely gratifying and wonderful to read, bringing sighs and tears to my eyes. But even then I couldn't have said why in words, and I certainly can't now. This is just one of many notions that seem to be threaded through the book's knotted tale, but it's what has stayed with me the most since finishing it a couple of months ago. So, I'd say that Toni Morrison is definitely on to something in this and other of her books, but I don't know what that something is, and I'm not sure I'd want to explore the blueprint of her thoughts because that would spoil the bliss somehow. So I will keep listening to this grandmother's lyrical songs with dumb pleasure, trying to keep a grasp on a mysteriously wise and peaceful place.
Rating:
Summary: thought-provoking, highly enjoyable
Review: In the first few pages of Paradise, I felt as if the mechanics behind the writing were too obvious. Unlike in Morrison's other books, in which the language created vivid images that illicited a strong emotional response, in the beginning of this novel I was distracted by the sensation that I could feel Morrison's effort to find just the right word. But as I read on, I found once again the same Morrison that I enjoy so much. The novel is a stirring look at the way people try to survive in a world where no one can remain whole and unscarred. Like her other books, Paradise left me with more questions than answers and certainly bears reading many more times.
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Summary: Paradise is a thought provoking read. Attempt the challenge.
Review: I have never read any of Ms. Morrison's works before and as an avid reader I am glad to have finally found her. Morrison offers the reader the chance to challenge themselves with this novel. I suspect that people are disheartened with this book because of the unusual way in which the text is revealed. As a reader we are not used to a style where the author offers a conclusion to a piece of work at the beginning and this is, in my opinion, one of the harder aspects of "Paradise" to deal with. After the first chapter I was engrossed. I wanted to learn more about the town and people. Most importantly I wanted to learn more about myself! Unlike many others whom I guess chose this book on Oprah's recommendation I did not. As an Australian reader I know little about Oprah's Book Club. Maybe this is why so many people are dissapointed, this is not a book to read simply for all the hype surrounding it. It is a book to pick up and challenge you. If you get the chance to reflect on Morrison's words I suggest it is worth the read and furthermore worth the look within.
Rating:
Summary: Paradise is a great story.
Review: I was almost ready to put this book down after the first chapter. I was completely lost and discouraged, especially after all the good things i heard about it. But I continued on and was very pleased. Im sure everybody who reads this gets a different message, but what I took from the book was a message about judgement. The people of Ruby set up there own town to get away from the judgement and predjudice of white people, but what they found is they could not escape it. They judge there own population and others who they feel are dangerous. This is great book but can be difficult to read at times.
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