125 out of 125 people found this review helpful.
The Bluest Eye - if only I hadn't been made the way I was
Date of Review: Jun 6, 2001
The Bottom Line: It's worth reading if for no other reason than Toni Morrison writes so beautifully.
The Bluest Eye was loaned to me by a good friend. I'd wanted to read it for some time - ever since Oprah had talked about it. The fact that my friend read it and told me how good it was, how it was something everyone could relate to, only encouraged my desire to get my hands on The Bluest Eye.
Just the facts
The Bluest Eye was written by author Toni Morrison. It was written in the 60's, was first published in 1970. It is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.
I read it....
So the time came. It was finally my turn to borrow The Bluest Eye from my friend. I started reading it that night. From the very first sentence, I was caught up in the beauty of the writing. There is no other way to put it. Author Toni Morrison's choice for words is striking. The subject on which The Bluest Eye is written is more than enough to make one think - but with the poetry of the prose, you really must pay great attention and use your mind to fully understand what's being said.
~ The Story ~
I was under the impression that The Bluest Eye was about a little black girl who wanted to have blue eyes. This was another reason I so wanted to read this book. I'm sure we've all, at one time or another, wanted to change something about ourselves. It's a universal topic.
The Bluest Eye is indeed about a young black girl who wants blue eyes. But it's about so much more than that. It's about a girl whose family and others have always treated her as if she were less than nothing. She was set up to believe - no, to know, that she was ugly.
In feeling how ugly she was, she had less than zero self esteem and self respect. She truly thought she was worthless. This is a terrible thing to read about. Yet, it's something we should be aware of. Many young people (and older folks as well) feel this way. For whatever reason(s) they feel they are not worthy. Worthy of what, you ask? Worthy of love, worthy of respect, worthy of being treated as if they are a valuable human being.
The Bluest Eye is a huge, and rather painful reminder to us that what we say and how we treat those around us can have a huge impact upon their lives.
I believe at one time or another we've all been shunned for some reason, however, we may still overlook small ways in which we make others feel like outsiders, like they don't belong. The Bluest Eye may help to open our eyes and make the world we live in a better place.
More even than that
There was much more to the The Bluest Eye than simply the story of the girl who wanted blue eyes. We are given awful details of the girls family life, which is rather horrifying. It made my skin crawl, perhaps because her drunken father reminded me so much of my step father (who was not a drunk).
Written by Toni Morrison (a black woman) about a little black girl, and the fact that it was written back in the 60's gives us quite an insight as to what it was like for African American's back then. Black or white, I think this is something we can all learn from. [Disclaimer: I'm well aware that things have not changed at all in the minds and hearts of many.]
What I'd change
I do not flatter myself that I can give Toni Morrison tips on writing. However, there were two things that I would change if I could.
1) The book is written in 4 parts. One part named for each of the 4 season's. In each section, a different person is telling the story. This is good in that we see a different point of view, but it is also distracting and leaves us with many questions.
2) Come to think of it, this is a take off of number one. The book isn't very long, yet has many characters in it. I would have liked either fewer characters or, more information on the characters. We aren't given nearly as much insight and information on everyone as I would have liked.
Graphic content
While the writing is beautiful in and of itself, there is some rather graphic content in The Bluest Eye. There are two rapes that occur as well as several other things that happen - making this book unsuitable for young children.
Bottom Line
The poetic way this story of prose was written is I feel, reason enough to read the book. The story is rather awful, but I think it may very well be a "must read" as there is so much we can learn about human nature from The Bluest Eye.
Just keep in mind that this is not a happy-go-lucky book. It will not leave you feeling warm or fuzzy. It's startling and horrifying. Therefore, I recommend you wait to read The Bluest Eye until your heart and mind are at a place where they can accept and digest the contents of this book.
