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The Bluest Eye

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( 291,613 ratings, 22,291 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, the story unfolds around a young Black girl named Pecola Breedlove who yearns for blue eyes, believing they will bring her love and acceptance in a world marred by racial and societal pressures. The novel explores themes of identity, beauty, and the devastating effects of internalised racism within a community. Through powerful storytelling, Morrison examines how these desires impact Pecola's life and those around her, highlighting societal beauty standards and cultural perceptions.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you appreciate powerful narratives that delve into themes of race, beauty, and identity. Set in post-Great Depression America, it offers a poignant exploration of the struggles faced by African American families, particularly through the eyes of a young girl who yearns for acceptance in a society defined by rigid beauty standards. Its lyrical prose and profound insight into human emotions make it a compelling read for literature enthusiasts who cherish thought-provoking and timeless stories.

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A novel that immerses us in the tragic, torn lives of a poor black family - Pauline, Cholly, Sam and Pecola - in post-Depression 1940s Ohio. Unlovely and unloved, Pecola prays each night for blue eyes like those of her privileged white schoolfellows.

Nobel Prize-winning author of Beloved, Toni Morrison is one of the finest novelists of our times.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Nobel Prize-winning author of Beloved, Toni Morrison is one of the finest novelists of our times.

Read the searing first novel from the celebrated author of Beloved, which immerses us in the tragic, torn lives of a poor black family in post-Depression 1940s Ohio.

Unlovely and unloved, Pecola prays each night for blue eyes like those of her privileged white schoolfellows. At once intimate and expansive, unsparing in its truth-telling, The Bluest Eye shows how the past savagely defines the present. 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 characterised her writing.

'She revealed the sins of her nation, while profoundly elevating its canon. She suffused the telling of blackness with beauty, whilst steering us away from the perils of the white gaze. That's why she told her stories. And why we will never, ever stop reading them' – Afua Hirsch

'Discovering a writer like Toni Morrison is rarest of pleasures' – Washington Post

'When she arrived, with her first novel, The Bluest Eye, she immediately re-ordered the American literary landscape' – Ben Okri

Winner of the PEN/Saul Bellow award for achievement in American fiction.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison is praised for its poetic and awe-inspiring narrative that challenges beauty standards. Reviewers highlight Morrison's ability to convey deep pain and wonder through her rhythmic and synaesthetic prose, drawing comparisons to literary giants like William Faulkner and Emily Dickinson. It is considered a poignant lament for children who face deprivation and neglect.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780099759911

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 March 1999

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 15.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 173g

Pages: 240

About the Author

Toni Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. She is the author of many novels, including The Bluest Eye, Beloved (made into a major film), Paradise and Love. She has also received the National Book Critics Circle Award and a Pulitzer Prize for her fiction.

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