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The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Vintage, 2016, 204 p, plus v p Foreword and viii p Afterword. First published in 1970.

This, Morrison’s first novel, is an elaboration of the US black experience in the mid-twentieth century, more specifically the female black experience. As such it is an examination of the effects racism has on the individuals who suffer it, how it became – becomes – internalised, the baleful ramifications it has.

So here we are told of a certain type of “brown girls” who cultivated “The careful development of thrift, patience, high morals, and good manners. In short how to get rid of the funkiness. The dreadful funkiness of passion, the funkiness of nature, the funkiness of the wide range of human emotions.” These girls will of course make excellent, untroublesome, wives.

The awful hierarchy of discrimination is illustrated by reference to a boy whose mother only allows him to play with white boys and tells him of “the difference between coloured people and niggers …. Coloured people were neat and quiet; niggers were dirty and loud.” At the bottom of this hierarchy lie women. If it is unfortunate to be black and poor it is even more so to be a poor black woman.

The tale is told – in sections corresponding to four seasons (Autumn round to Summer) – by two sisters, one in a first person narrative whose right hand margins are unjustified, the other in third person (and justified margins) exploring the history of the childhood friend whose story the overall novel tells.

In describing the black experience of that time and place the novel bears similarities to James Baldwin’s Go Tell It On the Mountain but is a different beast entirely: not least in its lack of discussion of religion. Instead its core lies in the life of Pecola, a young girl who sees herself as ugly and wishes to have blue eyes as they would surely make her beautiful. That such an attribute would only make her stand out more is thankfully lost on her. Not that she is short of other problems. The shocking event at the heart of her young life is perhaps out of place as far as the rest of the narrative is concerned – even though it is referred to from the outset – but in her fore- and afterwords (present only because this is a later edition of the novel) Morrison contends that highlighting the particular serves to emphasise the general.

By implication the fecklessness of Pecola’s father, Cholly Breedlove – exacerbated by lack of choice and his own abandonment while a child – is a result of inbuilt disadvantage, circumstances all but impossible to overcome. His wife Pauline has things even harder though but still strives to do the best for her family.

The Bluest Eye is not comfortable reading but neither should it be. The trouble is, it is unlikely to be read by those by whom it ought to be. Then again, they may be so lacking in empathy that if they did they would not have the capacity for reflection required.

Pedant’s corner:- In the introduction; “atmo-sphere” (not at a line break.)

Toni Morrison

I must confess I have not read any of the works of Toni Morrison who died earlier this week. My fault. Her obituary and other articles about her in the Guardian and things I have read about her before or seen discussed on book programmes and the like indicate she is certainly worth reading.

What can I say?

Too many books. Not enough time.

I ought perhaps to remedy my omission in the future, though.

Chloe Ardelia Wofford (Toni Morrison): 18/2/1931 – 5/8/2019. So it goes.

10 Great Books You Didn’t Know Were Science Fiction or Fantasy

So it says here.

The ten are:-

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
The Tin Drum by Günter Grass
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov
Secret Rendezvous by Kobo Abe
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Stories by Karen Russell
Smilla’s Sense of Snow* by Peter Høeg
In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan
Golden Days by Carolyn See

I’ll perhaps look out for some of these now.

*I have read this as Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow and as I recall the SF elements were the least convincing thing about it.

The others I haven’t read at all – but I’ve seen the film of The Tin Drum** and would have no problem with its inclusion in this list. I have read another by Bulgakov – though a glimpse of the cover of Heart of a Dog in the link would suggest that it is fantastical – and a short story by Kobo Abe.

The link shows Stories by Karen Russell variously involve girls raised by wolves, and vampires so where is the difficulty in categorisation there?

**I have since read The Tin Drum. See my review here.

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