The Bluest Eye

Bookseller recommendation

“Toni Morrison was a visionary. This, her first novel, was my first foray into her work, and I found it approachable, yet deep with meaning. It borrows its structure from a children’s Dick and Jane story, which Toni reads like a haunting incantation. Her narration of the entire book is flawless and stunning, like the text itself. The novel circles around Pecola, who rarely narrates but whose story is largely told by other characters, often children. Her story is traumatic yet minimally graphic, making it appropriate, even, for most sensitive readers.”

— Mary • Raven Book Store

Bookseller recommendation

“Beautiful, gothic, and read by Morrison. Her voice is so wonderful in this audiobook. The use of repetition and imagery in this book is amazing!!!”

— Otillia • Page 1 Books

Bookseller recommendation

“The literary highlight of my year so far came from a writer I thought I knew well already. I had read (and loved) many of Morrison's novels, but when I learned that she narrates the audio versions of some of her best-known books, I took that chance to catch up with one I'd missed, her debut. And my god, what a debut, and what an experience to hear it in the author's voice, recorded decades after she wrote it. The precision of her language, the surprises of her choices at every turn (which only feel inevitable after she has made them), her persistence in fully inhabiting each of her characters, even the most reprehensible: all of these are heightened by the resonance and sheer delight of Morrison's reading. A revelation!”

— Tom • Phinney Books

Bookseller recommendation

“READ BANNED BOOKS. In this modern classic, Toni Morrison tells the story of Pecola Breedlove, a young Black girl in post-Depression Ohio whose desire to have blue eyes, to be considered beautiful by society, eventually drives her to insanity. Morrison excellently conveys the damage done by white supremacist concepts of beauty in this moving and often banned book. ”

— Anna • The Underground Bookshop