i'm not going to rate this book by enjoyment, because really there's nothing to necessarily enjoy about it, but i feel like it was a very important read and reminded me of many issues i think everyone should be aware of.

Toni Morrison is a terrific writer, the prose in this book is beautiful and extremely heavy, and in literary terms it is amazing. you feel for our characters, especially Pecola, but even those who are hard to empathize with due to their actions are shown to have gone through a lot of difficult times that don't necessarily excuse them, but explain why they may have become the people that they are.

we're exposed to a lot of the hardships that i'm sure many black americans have faced in this country, and although i've seen some say that it's almost an exaggeration of black experiences, i don't think that's true. although it is fiction, this book could have been a real child's experience. any of these characters could be real, their experiences real, which is why i found it so impressive and important. especially after the "ending" of segregation, black americans still had to deal with (and do as we speak) being seen as lesser, expected to prove their worthiness to white americans to avoid being seen as barbarians (or worse). to be treated as a human being is not promised when the color of your skin is different. from the beginning of The Bluest Eye, we're shown how some children of color wish that they could be seen as just as beautiful as their white counterparts, before they've been able to step into themselves and find their own confidence. and none of this is to their own fault- how could you feel differently when all you're shown is white americans benefiting from the color of their skin? being considered beautiful just by being themselves, never having to prove it to anyone else.

"The Thing to fear was the Thing that made her beautiful, and not us."

there's coverage on how the medical system treats black women, as though they were just animals to treat rather than humans to help.

"They deliver right away and with no pain. Just like horses. ... I hurt just like white women. Just 'cause I wasn't hooping and hollering before didn't mean I wasn't feeling pain."

but there's also a coming of age story here, and a feeling of our characters being able to take their power back in one way or another, even if it was in the ways white americans didn't notice.

"Everybody in the world was in a position to give them orders. ... But they took all of that and re-created it in their own image. They ran the houses of white people, and knew it."

we also touch on the impact of religion, dysfunctional family dynamics, and so much more, i could go on forever. i annotated this book to hell and back.

even if you think this is a difficult read, imagine how it would feel to experience it. i really highly recommend picking The Bluest Eye up, if not any other pieces of Toni Morrison's work, which i now plan on doing myself.

"I talk about how I did not plant the seeds too deeply, how it was the fault of the earth, the land, our town. ... At least on the edge of my town, among the garbage and the sunflowers of my town, it's much, much, much too late."