Looking Back - The Bluest Eye

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Fiction
1994 Penguin Books (first published in 1970)
Read in July 1999
Rating: 1/5 (Disliked)

Publisher's Blurb:

The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison's first novel, a book heralded for its richness of language and boldness of vision. Set in the author's girlhood hometown of Lorain, Ohio, it tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blond, blue-eyed children in America. In the autumn of 1941, the year the marigolds in the Breedloves' garden do not bloom. Pecola's life does change- in painful, devastating ways.

What its vivid evocation of the fear and loneliness at the heart of a child's yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment. The Bluest Eye remains one of Tony Morrisons's most powerful, unforgettable novels- and a significant work of American fiction.

My Original Notes (1999):

I've decided I really don't care much for Morrison's works. I really liked Beloved, but didn't care for this book. (I couldn't get into Paradise, either.) This was a chore to read.

My Current Thoughts:

Toni Morrison has never been a favorite, but after reading Beloved (which I loved), I thought I'd give this renowned debut a chance. I didn't care for it at all, but wonder if it would make a better impression on me now.