Rating: 
Summary: It wasn't easy......
Review: The first half of this book was difficult to understand and difficult to "get into". BUT by the time I was halfway through the book the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together and from then on I couldn't put it down. This was an excellent, complex story with beautifully descriptive wording that makes you look at the ordinary in a whole new way. The characters are not always likeable, but you really understand (by the end of the book) where they are coming from and what their motives are. After I finished this book I re-read the first few chapters. It was alot like having to see a smart movie twice.... the second time around everything makes sense. This is a wonderful book, and it's well worth sticking with it even though it's tough to do initially. I've also read Ms. Morrison's "Song of Solomon" and "The Bluest Eye". Ms. Morrison is a one-of-a-kind author and I really love her books. I am definately going to read the ones I haven't yet.
Rating: 
Summary: Complex and thought provoking
Review: This is my first experience with Toni Morrison's works and I must say that it was indeed a challenge to complete and in some spots to comprehend the underlying meaning in the way she worth this novel. There is no way for me to compare this to her works or any other writers works for that fact because she is truly in her own realm. Now with this being said I must admit that I enjoyed the challenge in the reading of Paradise and even though it's not MY idea of PARADISE it was to the citizens of Ruby and that must be respected. I will not try to sway you one way or the other into reading this novel but I will say that if you are looking for a thought-provoking novel with twist and a couple of turns this is indeed for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Words, beautiful words
Review: The main comments i had encountered everywhere about this book before i read it was people were disappointed, that it was not as good as Morrison's previous books. If that is the case, i can't wait to read more of her work! I thought this was a great book, not just because of the fine crafting of the story, but because it was so thought provoking. And i love some of the names of the characters - the four sisters in the 'nativity' play - Hope, Chaste, Lovely and Pure. Or Lone, named such because that is what she was when they found her. And Morrison does such a good job of writing about food! (i love reading about food in books, so perhaps i am a little biased). This is a story about the township of Ruby, and it's relationship to the Convent nearby. Ruby is a town populated entirely by the descendants of freed slaves, and the Convent was actually once a school for Indian girls, now a home to an eclectic grouping of women. We learn about Ruby and the Convent through the stories of various women, and i think we learn a lot about perceptions, and how history shapes the present. What was best about this story for me, however, was Morrison's wonderful use of language. Some people have complained that her work is too complicated, that ' you have to read the sentences more than once to understand them.' I didn't find this at all. This was my first Toni Morrison book, and definitely not my last.
Rating:
Summary: Difficult but ultimately worth it
Review: Like most of Toni Morrison's writing, the plotline of this book is complex and usually extremely confusing. I am still puzzled about the ending, and in fact puzzled about most of the events in the book. However, like a piece of abstrtact art, you are meant to interpret it for yourself. The overriding themes and the finely sketched characters will stay with, as well as the mood of mystery and despair. If you are willing to attempt this book with an open mind, it will seep under your skin. Though it is often hard to follow, and the actual events of the novel are foggy at best, it is a journey that in the end is worth the effort.
Rating: 
Summary: This Is Paradise?
Review: The following is a short paper I typed for a College Literature class concerning Paradise: I would like to use this final response paper as a means to express my dislike for the Tony Morrison book Paradise. Don't get me wrong, I liked all of the other books we have covered this semester. Invisible Man is true greatness. And I have never came across a book as differently effective as Maus. I even like the other Morrison book I have read, Beloved. But Paradise just did not do it for me at all. It seemed to me to be one of the best cures for insomnia that I have ever came across. And if I weren't required to read it I would have put it down a long time ago. But I did read it, and if there was going to be a test over it, frankly I wouldn't stand a chance(the example I use to prove a point later on in this paper I'm sure will prove my ignorance on the matter). There were many aspects to this book that I didn't really enjoy. But for this brief paper I will just name a few reasons that I will not be going back to Paradise. My first point is obvious, it has way too many characters in it! Why did the great Morrison decide to include what seemed to be an interminable number of people in this book. There are more people in this book than in my hometown it seemed. Did she want it to be such a difficult read that you had to muddle through it about five times just to really comprehend her stories and messages. And to add to the confusion, it has shifting timelines that would make the movie Pulp Fiction look like Dr.Seuss. I have never been one to shy away from difficult readings. T.S. Elliot is pretty difficult to read but I do like it. My Comp and Theory class this semester read a article from Victor Villanueva that was very tough but I still thought it was fascinating. Paradise was just so convoluted with characters that I had an immensely difficult time staying interested while reading it. I mean how many books require you to write a timeline and a cast of characters in class just to try to straighten everything out? And every time I did start to like parts the tone set me off again. It was so dark and oppressive that I felt depressed after every time I read it. I am usually ready to go when it comes to anything with a morose theme. Whether it be movies, music,books, etc., I am always readily able to disconnect myself from that and allow it not to affect me. But every character in the story has some sort of skeleton in their closet that really made me feel sorry for them. And the overtones of inbreeding really made me sort of nauseous. The beginning, which I think creates a promising start to the book, is just left dangling and I didn't really get to find out what had happened to a lot of the women in the convent. And the emotions they display seem incorrect to fit the situation. For example, after not seeing her mother for nearly ten years, a young woman(sorry, don't know her name) reacts to seeing this mother after all that time as if she had went to the kitchen for a few minutes and just came back into the room. The mother(don't know her name either) left terrified that the daughter was trying to murder her, but acts as if nothing happened after running into her again. The book was also disjointed beyond my obviously meager comprehension. The individual vignettes would start in one year, then quickly and abruptly shift to another year. The flashbacks confused me on many occasions. To me the book seemed rushed and unorganized.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I am an avid book reader who plows through at least 7 novels a month. In the past few months I have read at least 20 books and none of them left me feeling the way I did while I read Paradise. Her writing is pure poetry and the images she created in my head enthralled me. Her writing stimulated all my senses and I was left feeling exhilarated. I could smell the lilacs like they were under my nose, taste the steaming potatoes with butter as they slid down Mavis's throat, heard the sounds of children or birds as they froliced in the sun, saw the people and the town like I was looking out my window and felt the warmth of coffee in my hands or the wet tears on my cheek. Paradise was outstanding. I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: I am not capable of the review this book deserves
Review: For most readers, literary selectivity is function of variable tastes. In some instances even with an author you may have enjoyed in the past, that author's choice to experiment with different writing styles, exploration of new subject matter or the reader's evolving preferences may result in a less than favorable experience with a particular book. I also believe an author's growing popularity and reputation tends to attract a number of readers who would not normally include that author on one's reading list. I find my perplexed by the number of negative recommendations for PARADISE as I consider it one of the very best I have read in a long time. I do not purport the book is an easy read but I'm equally as certain Ms. Morrison never set out to write a summer poolside "light reading" effort. The book demands consideration and contemplation as she infuses such a wide range of issues - moral, sociological, theological, political, economic, among others - I thought it was way too short. In the main, PARADISE recounts the history of a close knit African American community in the town of Ruby, Oklahoma, and the convergence of events leading up to a tragic conflict with the peculiar, possibly occultist transients inhabiting a functionally abandoned convent 17 miles outside of town. It is tale of displacement and migration; of an egalitarian plan that devolved into status and class; of the dangers of xenophobia and misplaced prejudices, and those descriptives only brush the surface of the book's themes. It is also a story of escapism and the search for security; of people seeking non-judgmental support and social acceptance. PARADISE illuminates all of Toni Morrison's literary talents at her best and is one of the limited number of books that can ever reach the status of timeless classic.
Rating:
Summary: Too much information?
Review: I was interested in this unique story from the first page, but as it unfolded, I felt a bit perplexed. Instead of having a pencil and paper to decode the family trees involved (as I probably should have) I was mopping sweat from my forehead. I almost felt as if I were reading the section in Genesis "Abraham begot Isaac. Isaac begot.." and so forth. But, these people were definately not biblical. The elements of the "supernatural" incorporated in the book were OK, but I felt they were just kind of thrown in there to make things a bit more mysterious. On the surface, it's the story of a close-knit (almost incestuous) society who has a cult of outsiders living near their town. Although the meat of the novel was tough going, I did enjoy the finale. Through all the tumult within, I was uplifted by the end. I wouldn't call this one of Ms. Morrison's best, and it's not "The Bluest Eye". But, I'm not giving up on her.
Rating:
Summary: never again!!
Review: my assignment was...write a 16 page literary analysis...no specifications about author, subject, or anything... i asked my professor what she recommened..she said .. "anything by toni morrison." i chose paradise because of the more than stellar reviews, but i found it to be an incredibly boring and pointless book!! morrison is an extrememly gifted writer, but paradise is pure garbage... it's the kind of book that will put you to sleep!! sorry :(
Rating:
Summary: Trouble In Paradise
Review: This is one of the most muddled books I've ever plodded through. I am the only person I know who read this book from cover to cover, hoping to find some justification for its stellar reviews. I could find none.
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