READERS SIDENOTE: I feel at times compelled to read a book because of its hype, or it won an award, or it has a snazzy cover; in this case, The Bluest Eye was not only a National Bestseller, it was a winner of The Nobel Prize in Literature - that's a big deal. Unfortunately, this, like many that have caught my eye because of extraneous reasons rather than my gut based on "the back flap," fell flat. This flatness was not because of poor writing or bad subject matter; it was because of the same reason that prompted me to pick it up: the hype, and my, in turn, expectation.

The Bluest Eye is a story of true color; Pecola Breedlove's ebony skin and her desire for blue eyes - to make her beautiful. In the afterward, Ms. Morrison pens that she doesn't want the reader to pity Pecola, but it's hard not to. As a mother, as a person who always found fault in her appearance, I read the book with a mixture of sadness, empathy, pity, and guilt (my eyes are not blue, but my skin is white).

The book was not to derive my guilt but to enlighten me, I'm sure, which it did - I felt deeply for Pecola's dream to be what she could never; in her case, a girl with blue eyes. Ms. Morrison does an exceptional job at causing the reader to see their innocuous fortune through the eyes of those who are told they are not as blessed.

I got lost a couple of times as the book wandered down a path to call out an example or point and then felt jolted back when the scene would shift, and I again understood where I was and with whom I was interacting as the reader. I guess this inability to follow would be my issue, as who am I to discredit or downplay the scholars voting on the highest acclaim in literature.

Would I recommend the Bluest Eye? Yes. I think we all need to be stretched, academically and socially. ( )

My first Morrison re-read mainly because there was a read event with Literacy Partners with some wonderful people/authors on Youtube, while reading along with a copy in my hands. I can't believe the first time I read this was twenty years ago. Admittedly, it was the Morrison I thought was mostly Just Fine, so I wanted to see if I am a better reader now. I would hope. Originally, the only thing I remembered was being annoyed that a little girl wanted blue eyes, so entirely have transformed the book over time, due to my faulty memory, as the yearning for blue eyes being the entire plot. Wow, wrong. Morrison was already a genius with her first book, even if she herself thought there were problems in the execution here. I notice a bit of that, but also admire what Morrison was trying to say here, the purpose of the book. Shocking is how much I have forgotten in the book-- however, I would guess my brain might have forgotten a lot of this intentionally, as much of it is so miserable. I'm happy to have re-read it, only for better appreciation. ( )

The message of this book is so important, but the presentation was scattered and difficult for me to understand. I did understand that the characters were always aware of their race and their place in society, whether that society be Black or white. And even though this book was set in 1941, bigotry is still very much present. With the difficulties of the book, I did feel for many of the characters, even those who behaved in ways that upset me. This is at least my 2nd time reading it, and it is worth reading again. ( )

This is an amazing, important work of literature and contribution to humanity. Toni Morrison's writing is astoundingly good, making it hard to put the book down. The subject matter, at times, can be very heavy and difficult to digest, causing much pondering and reflection after reading. This book is not to be approached lightly or trivialized. ( )

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