The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
(Format used for this read: Audiobook)
When the author Toni Morrison passed away recently, I realized I have never read any of her books.
I knew about her and heard interviews with her on various platforms, but for some reason I had never sat down with one of her books.
Her words made and continue to make a HUGE impact in this world and to honor her legacy I wanted to read the pages she poured her heart, soul, creativity and wisdom into.
This was her first novel and I decided this was the first work of hers I should read.
Here is the official summary:
“Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl, prays every day for beauty. Mocked by other children for the dark skin, curly hair, and brown eyes that set her apart, she yearns for normalcy, for the blond hair and blue eyes that she believes will allow her to finally fit in.Yet as her dream grows more fervent, her life slowly starts to disintegrate in the face of adversity and strife. A powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity, Toni Morrison’s virtuosic first novel asks powerful questions about race, class, and gender with the subtlety and grace that have always characterized her writing.”
It only took me two days to complete this book…I finished it this morning and after it was over, I was sitting in a whole lot of raw emotions.
This book shows how the white standards of beauty in our society are extremely damaging to young children and adults alike.
The author shows us the dehumanization, abuse, mistreatment, and disregard of black bodies by other human beings in this country hurts and traumatizes generation after generation….in ways we may not even realize or consider.
Parts of this book were absolutely difficult and uncomfortable for me to listen to regarding abuse and mistreatment of children.
Some parts were uncomfortable because I myself have bought into society’s white focused notions of what makes a person “beautiful.”
I cried and lamented for the characters in this book as they experienced pain and struggle and fear and oppression and hatred ….and then sat in the lament for all the human beings in real life that have experienced or continue to experience similar events.
Toni Morrison is a master storyteller and her words are haunting, powerful, and soul stirring.
Even though this is a work of fiction her goal in writing it, as she explains in the after word, was to show how damaging internalized racism and colorism can be, especially to the most vulnerable…young girls.
I think this is not only a powerful read but an important one as well.