The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Bluest Eye
Book Review: Beautiful, but....
Summary: 4 Stars
Toni Morrison is a wonderfully gifted writer. Her use of language in The Bluest Eye is exquisite. Through the use of different points of view, she captures the different motivations of each character and offers us a platform from which to understand their actions. My question is this...if this book is about the perception of beauty, did Pecola have to be raped to convey the theme? I believe the story supported Ms. Morrison's point without the brutalization of the child.Book Review: Beautifully written
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought and read The Bluest Eyes yesterday at the bookstore and today it was announced as Oprah's new pick. I have read and enjoyed Toni Morrison before, so I was anxious to read this short story. I was not disappointed and did not go to sleep until the book was finished. What struck me in the story is that beyond the prejudice of color the characters lives are all touched by some element of "being looked down upon." All the characters face the pain of not being respected and treated decently by others. Pecola unfortunately happens to be the one that is at the bottom of the heap, so to speak. This story touched me because so often people look for the "ugly" in others to make themselves feel better and don't stop to think how deeply hurtful that is to others. Haven't we all wished for something to make us more beautiful, more loved like Pecola who dreams that merely changing the color of her eyes would change the direction of her life.Book Review: Beautifully written
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought and read The Bluest Eyes yesterday at the bookstore and today it was announced as Oprah's new pick. I have read and enjoyed Toni Morrison before so I was anxious to read this short story. I was not disappointed and did not go to sleep until the book was finished. What struck me in the story is that beyond the prejudice of color the characters lives are all touched by some element of "being looked down upon." All the characters face the pain of not being respected and treated decently by others. Pecola unfortunately happens to be the one that is at the bottom of the heap so to speak. This story touched me because so often people look for the "ugly" in others to make themselves feel better and don't stop to think how deeply hurtful that is to others. Haven't we all wished for something to make us more beautiful, more loved like Pecola who dreams that merely changing the color of her eyes would change the direction of her life.Book Review: Blue Eyes Are Not the Answer
Summary: 4 Stars
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison's first novel, is redolent with imagery and the richness of language that her later books also reveal. We discover, through the eyes of children, the heartbreaking story of Pecola Breedlove, an eleven year old Black girl whose physical ugliness shapes her place in the world. Shunned by her classmates and made fun of, she is befriended by two sisters who feel sorry for her and set about trying to change the course of her life. Pecola's lack of beauty is an extension of her family which has no unity and no core of values to lean on. Her longing for blue eyes suggests her craving for the beauty that exists for all the blond and blue-eyed children and explains her love of Shirley Temple and similar stars, but deep inside, reveals the tragic lack of self-love and the almost universal belief of her times that Black was not beautiful. When a devastating event shakes her entire world, Pecola tries to maintain her equilibrium with her belief that her eyes will really turn blue. However, the changes that occur, are far less attractive and incredibly more destructive. As with all her books, Toni Morrison has created a poetic, if tragic, view of the world. In Pecola's life we can experience the tragedy of not having a true place in life, and share the shattering of disillusionment that can only be felt in childhood.Book Review: Bluest Disappointment
Summary: 1 Stars
There is no doubt that Toni Morrison is a wonderfully gifted writer with a brilliant mind. She possesses very strong opinions which give light to here broad insight and amzazing intellect. However, some thoughts are better conveyed through an essay (or several essays), as opposed to a disorganized and unfocused novel. "The Bluest Eye" was a series of interesting philosophies helter-skelterly mingled with a depressing story of a girl's incestuous relationship with her father. Disappointing to say the least, I give this novel two thumbs waaaay down.