Why is it that in life, the very thing we strive to avoid often becomes a part of us? Why do the oppressed sometimes turn into the oppressors? Why do those who are abused end up becoming the abusers? Why do those who demand openness and equality sometimes become insular and elitist? And why does the love we work so hard to obtain turn into a protective curse when we try to contain it instead of allowing its empathy and compassion to spread to all? These open-ended questions are just the tip of the iceberg in Toni Morrison's "Paradise". It is an incredible novel that weaves together many complex themes, mind-blowing symbolisms, and an obvious personal investment of experience, echoes of generations past, and silent whisperings from history that we should listen to and never repeat.

The idea that a group from an oppressed race can run away from their problems, form their own society, and live by their own rules contains the basic dangers inherent in utopian thinking. All too often, it is not applicable or realistic given the complexities of human nature. In fact, the idea that this utopia can be achieved affirms the thesis of the oppressed becoming the oppressor. We can see this in modern society, such as in the way the Israelis treat the Palestinians, or the way America has chosen to repress and exploit the Third World and various racial, class, homosexual, religious, and political groups at home. Here, we have victims creating new victims, and the cycle continues. The real question is, how do we break this cycle? It is only through great courage, love, empathy, compassion, and strength that we can step up and say no. I forgive you for what has happened to me, and to make that forgiveness real in my own life, I will strive not to become bitter and will do my best not to pass it on to others, either consciously or unconsciously.

The concept of Paradise in Toni Morrison's novel is like looking into an endless sea of mirrors. It reflects back on you again and again. Its meanings can go on infinitely, and the religious representations in the novel suggest that Paradise can be infinity itself.
First, we have the town of Ruby. It is an honest, and at first, noble idea of escaping exploitation. But here, we have our first red flag. These African Americans are descendants of a group that left the post-Reconstruction era in Louisiana and Mississippi to establish their own community free of whites, or for that matter, any inter-racial mixing. So, the idea of exclusion is there from the start. This is what gets us into trouble. While it is clear that the group believed they were simply avoiding intense suffering, there was a deep, dark seed of hate that had been planted by the white man. Now, before anyone jumps on me, I'm not saying that this hatred has no reason to exist. It would be impossible to be treated as chattel for centuries and not carry some animosity. I'm just pointing out that this is one of the great tests of life, and it applies to any oppressed group. How do you handle this situation within a history of racism? How do the Jews react to the Holocaust? How do the Palestinians react to Jewish oppression?
Unfortunately, the citizens of Ruby handled it by trying to keep their society untouched by "contamination". Contamination represents anything outside of their direct ancestors. This includes skin color (even compared to other African Americans), an unspoken but expected moral code, a hierarchy in society that revolves around the founding families, and the expectation of keeping the generations continuous through marriage within the community. It revolves around purity in religion, in dress, in being a productive, upstanding member of society, and, consequently, becomes patriarchal, authoritarian, repressive, and a power struggle.
This is where we can introduce the Convent into the story. The book does it from the very beginning, but that beginning is actually the end of the story. Or is it the beginning of another beginning? Is the symbolism involved in how the women of the Convent treated the attacking men of the town only the beginning of another cycle of repression? Or, to put it more clearly, are the women plotting revenge at the end of the story that will then turn them into the oppressors? Again, they would certainly be justified. However, what will it accomplish? Only more and more violence.
The Convent is located about 17 miles outside of the town of Ruby. It was originally the project of a white collar criminal, but was taken over by a group of nuns who became yet another symbol of oppression. The patriarchy that seeps through the pages of "Paradise" is evident in the treatment of women by the Catholic Church. The nuns of the Church have been programmed with this repression to such a degree that they, in turn, act as the patriarchs in this very convent. It is an important point to understand because of the way Connie is affected. She believes that she needs this authority to survive. Connie is the perfect example of a woman who has been pushed down by patriarchy and authoritarianism to the point where her thoughts are not her own. She has not learned the process of discovering her own individuality, but she will and does.
A quick side note, as I've mentioned before in my writing reviews, but Morrison doesn't miss a beat when it comes to touching on what I call "the benefactor syndrome" of missionary work. The convent was set up to take the message of Christ to the Native Americans and "wean them away from anything that was enjoyable in their lives". It's the idea that we have it right; you are the sinner, so conform to our way of thinking.
But the Convent is going to go through another evolution centered around Connie. After Mary Magna passes away, Connie is all alone. Mary Magna was the woman who rescued Connie from the poverty of being an orphan, and she was who Connie lived for. Connie never thought about the crucial process of discovery while Mary Magna was around because she never felt the need. She never had to think for herself as long as she had the convent and the sisters. She didn't realize that she was a prisoner. It was only the ability to "step inside" that was introduced to her by Lone that not only symbolized empathy but also allowed her to realize the importance of herself as an individual. Yes, this seemingly supernatural power from Lone is symbolic of the power that Connie and the rest of the women she takes under her wing have to realize their own potential.
These free-thinking women are precisely what pose a threat to the utopia of Ruby. Women are a threat to this society because they stand in the way of "progress". Female babies cannot carry on the "holy" family names of the town. Female midwives and childbearers stand between the successful births of healthy baby boys. To the men of the town, this is everything. Without the ability to continue the utopia, the dream dies. Any woman who is able to amass too much power is a clear threat to their authoritarianism. What if she doesn't want to bear children? What if the 8-rock women gain so much power that they refuse to marry the men of the community and instead go outside and inter-marry with others?
All their dreams, all their fears, their purpose for living, the very idea of the town of Ruby, the outside threats, the unsubmissive women, the impurity, the non-conformity, the strangeness of the other - all of it is wrapped up in the women who have taken up residence with Connie in the Convent. This is why they must be stopped. This is where the idea of purity and a way of life become more important than love and acceptance. This is the culmination of our narrative. The formerly oppressed (the citizens of Ruby) have made the transformation into the oppressors. The woman has become the victim.
It is perhaps no coincidence that our story takes place during the Civil Rights era. For it is in this very movement that the fight for equality in the black community became patriarchal. The idea of freedom for the race did not include the equally important drive for women's rights. That fight would have to come later. It is symbolic and central to Morrison's novel that the women are left out of "purifying" the town of Ruby. What the men have to say and how they plan to carry out their actions is no place for a woman's involvement. In this, we can see the warning from Morrison that any fight for equality can become repressive in and of itself.
This idea of "Paradise" therefore involves many different elements for Morrison and our characters. Freedom is one common thread. Self-determination is another. The ability to escape is a third. However, what many of our characters struggle to understand is the all-consuming love that is so important for Paradise to become a reality. Through the lens of love, everything becomes clear. One's vision of a Higher Power (yet another "Paradise" theme) is all about how love is incorporated. Without love, our world falls apart. Love and its corollary, equality, are about embracing the differences we see in others. This cannot be achieved through a dogmatic adherence to principle, purity, or structure. It is not done by taking sides. It is about searching for the common ground that makes us all human.
In the end, the road to Paradise is narrow. However, it is not a narrow experience or way of thinking. It is simple yet complex, much like Morrison's novel. Love is never easy, but in the end, it is all we have. Love is meaning, our very existence, the essence of what we describe as "God", and the only way to Paradise.

This book was chosen by one of my professors, an authority in African American literature who has penned several books himself, for a 400-level college lit course.

On the very first day we delved into this book, he entered the classroom, placed it on the table before him, and stated, "I hadn't perused this book for some time. I couldn't recall if I had liked it or not. I don't believe I do."

A week later, I was certain that I didn't either.

Morrison has long been acclaimed for her evocative lyricism. However, in this work more than in her other novels, it appears as if she is overly enamored with her own language. There is a particular passage concerning a pair of hyper-sexualized rocks in the desert. Although beautifully crafted, it is largely insubstantial. And what a deception to play on the reader when it is disclosed that the rocks she had spent so much time and effort describing didn't even exist.

In addition, Morrison doesn't always seem to be bothered about whether or not the readers can follow the story. She frequently shuns characters' names in favor of "she" and at other times refers to them by nicknames or other identifiers. Given that she is employing an omniscient point-of-view, this can give rise to numerous problems. For example, in one section, one of the girls is alone in the convent for the first time, but the narrator is providing historical information about the house that the girl couldn't possibly know.

I believe there is a basis for a good book here, but it required more meticulous editing.

Paradise, the third installment in Toni Morrison's Beloved trilogy, offers a searing examination of the lives of black individuals following the abolition of slavery in the antebellum south. Toni Morrison, a Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author for Literature, expresses her eagerness to manipulate and control metaphoric language. She states that exclusivity is an alluring and even compelling aspect of paradise as many unworthy people are excluded. Boundaries are secure, with watchdogs, security systems, and gates to verify the legitimacy of inhabitants. Such enclaves separate from crowded urban areas. It seems impossible or undesirable to envision and build a city that can accommodate the poor. Exclusivity is not only a realized dream for the wealthy but also a popular longing of the middle class.

This novel is inspired by the rich history of all-black towns in Oklahoma after the Civil War, when black Americans gained the right to vote and other citizenship rights like property ownership. It explores the founding of an all-black town named "Haven" in Oklahoma that thrived until the aftermath and struggles of two world wars. At that point, it was decided to move on and establish a new all-black town called "Ruby," named after a black woman who died during childbirth due to the refusal of medical care because of her race.
The novel centers around the attempts of various groups to find paradise as they seek an isolated and self-sufficient idyllic existence away from the racism of the outside world. However, the Convent, now a haven for lost women on the edge of Ruby, becomes a problem for the founding families of Ruby as they view it and what it represents as a threat to their community. The book is divided into nine chapters, each revealing the backgrounds of different women in the convent and their numerous connections to the people of Ruby. As with all of Toni Morrison's writing, one must surrender to her talented, beautiful, and sometimes haunting prose. As we learn more about the women's stories, it becomes evident that all may not be as rosy as the town's leaders present. There is always a powerful message in her books, and Paradise is no exception.

It was truly a pleasure to hear her voice. Both Morrison's actual reading voice and her literary one were captivating.

I have a desire to revisit this particular title in its print form. There is something special about holding a book in your hands and experiencing the words on the page.

There are several other Toni Morrison books that I have not yet had the opportunity to read. I look forward to delving into them.

However, I don't want to rush through this process. Since she passed away last summer, we are aware that there will be no new Toni Morrison novels forthcoming.

Unless, of course, there are some hidden manuscripts that have been squirreled away, waiting to be released or discovered.

So, instead of hurrying through the rest of her work, I plan to space them out and savor each one. This way, I can fully appreciate the depth and beauty of her writing.

I believe that taking my time will allow me to gain a more profound understanding of her literary genius.

Audible version. What an absolute gift it is to hear Toni Morrison give voice to her work! I firmly believe that I will make my way through her entire catalog in this manner. Paradise is truly a monumental work.

It centers around a collection of African-American families who embark on a journey to create their own town, one that is free from the outside world and the influence/prejudice of whites. The narrative intricately weaves in the details of their migration and all that embarking on such a journey would entail.

The story commences with an act of terror and violence. Subsequently, we are taken back to the beginning to witness what leads up to this attack. The cast is extensive, consisting of over fifty characters from nine different families and a few outsiders.

For eighty percent of the book, I would award 4.5 stars as it managed to keep me thoroughly interested. However, there was that remaining 20 percent which had just an excessive amount of back story and/or an overabundance of detail regarding the family tree/genealogy, causing me to rate those sections at 3 stars.

I think that I would have had a more enhanced experience had I listened or read this over the summer when I could have dedicated my full attention to all the nuances and subplots. I was truly invested in many of the storylines.

There is a powerful theme thread that runs throughout the narrative, that of a group of people striving to create their own Paradise, their very own Garden of Eden. But, just like Adam and Eve, there is a fall from grace. By the time we return to the terror and violence, it is even more harrowing and tragic because we have come to know the individuals involved on an intimate level.

Toni Morrison’s work often incorporates a small element of magical realism, and this is clearly evident here, especially towards the end. I absolutely adore how the last word or phrase is the title of the novel.

This book earns three and a half stars, to be precise.

It's a decent read, but it's hard to compete with my all-time favorite "Beloved".

The story has its moments of intrigue and emotion, but it doesn't quite reach the same heights as Toni Morrison's masterpiece.

The characters are well-developed, but they lack the depth and complexity that made "Beloved" so unforgettable.

Overall, it's a good book, but it's not one that I'll be rushing to read again.

I'll probably stick with "Beloved" as my go-to for a truly powerful and moving literary experience.

However, if you're looking for something new to read and don't mind a bit of a letdown compared to the best, then this book might be worth checking out.

First of all, I have to say that I have an enormous respect for Toni Morrison. She is not only a brilliant novelist but also a very important activist for the African American community and a powerful feminist figure. Her work as an advocate for a more fair and truthful interpretation of history in the context of the African American situation in the USA is of great significance. I consider Toni Morrison to be an exceptional woman, a remarkable person, and a wise soul. She is one of the writers I would love to meet in person.

"Paradise" is my second novel by Toni Morrison. Before that, I had only read "Beloved" as a student, and it was a breathtaking and heart-breaking experience for me. When I started reading "Paradise", I expected another "Beloved", but I couldn't have been more wrong. Having read three of her novels so far ("Beloved", "Paradise", and "Jazz"), I can state that each one of them is remarkably unique. I even did a mini review of "Jazz" on my Instagram account. Morrison's novels explore similar subjects, but there is no repetition in them. Most importantly, all of her novels are superb masterpieces with amazing characters and masterful narratives. They all have great psychological and emotional depth.

"Paradise" was published in 1997 and is often mentioned as the first novel Morrison published after winning the Nobel Prize for literature. According to the author herself, "Paradise" completes a trilogy that includes two of her other novels, "Beloved" and "Jazz", which I was fortunate enough to read. The story is set in the imaginary city of Ruby, established by black people to protect themselves from racism and limitations in the USA. Ruby can be seen as an attempt to create Eden, a new and untouched place free from the horrors of the past. However, the establishment of this town raises many interesting questions. Can we ever really escape the past? Should we at least try? What is the true nature of the past? All the families and individuals in Ruby, as well as their community as a whole, are very fascinating.

Near the city, there is an abandoned catholic convent where a group of outcast women has found a place for themselves. The tension between the convent and the enclosed city is the driving force behind most of the conflicts in the novel. However, the author shows us that this is only the surface. As always in life, the inner conflicts are the true driving force behind the outside conflicts. The women in the convent are also refugees from the outside world, and they have also sought isolation and established their own community. Their reasons for escaping the outside world are just as important as those of the town's people. Morrison does a great job of giving us a very personal view into the soul of each woman in the convent. Moreover, she is such a masterful storyteller. The way she connects all the stories is simply perfect.

"Paradise", a novel that begins and ends with a massacre, is not about violence. It acknowledges the violence and conflicts that exist within most of us, but it does so without taking away our humanity (or that of the characters in the novel). Yes, there is a great deal of violence in this novel, both emotional and physical, inflicted by one character on another and by many characters on themselves. Nevertheless, it is not about violence. Like all masterpieces, it is about many things. For me personally, this novel is about the power of love and survival. The novel opens and closes with bloodshed, but in between lies the explanation and the story that is as profound as life itself. The infamous first paragraph, "They shot the white girl first...", shows Morrison's intention to start the novel with race but then eradicate it by never revealing who the white girl is. What I like most about the novel is its focus on women characters. I even felt that reading this novel empowered me as a woman. I was especially fascinated by the women living in the convent, by their weaknesses and strengths. This group of dysfunctional women is not idealized in any way. They are full of flaws, and some of them are struggling with mental illness, but their connection to one another and their inner strength makes them almost mystical figures.

I'm not sure if I took a long time to finish because I didn't like it, or if I didn't like it because I took a long time to finish.

The writing of Toni Morrison didn't captivate me much. The plot is good, but the way it is written is not my favorite. There are many characters with American names, and this confused me a bit. Also, I turn up my nose a little at things produced in the US, which may have influenced my view of the book.

You can feel that it's good, but the reading wasn't pleasurable for me. It's possible that my personal preferences and biases played a role in my experience with this book. Maybe if I had a different mindset or a greater appreciation for American literature, I would have enjoyed it more. However, as it stands, I can recognize the quality of the work, but it just didn't resonate with me on a personal level.

Perhaps I will give it another try in the future and see if my perspective changes.

I started reading this book in 2022 and just now managed to finish it. It's the first Toni Morrison book I've read. As usual, when it comes to Pulitzer and Nobel laureate authors, the expectations were, inevitably, quite high.

Why only 3*?

The prose is phenomenal, so good that I suspect even Mrs. Morrison herself fell so deeply in love with it and had a hard time stopping in time. The book is about a town in the middle of the 20th century, in the middle of America, whose inhabitants are all of color.

And?

And that's about it.

We are told a lot, but nothing is shown to us.

From what I managed to figure out, the town (called Ruby) is a kind of enclave where the racial purity of the black founders and religion are above the law. Obviously, outside elements (and white) intervene that disrupt the lives of the inhabitants, and the new generations in Ruby tend to have a less orthodox behavior. The people spend a lot of time negotiating a kind of subliminal armistice. Life goes on among parties, scandals, love affairs, births and deaths. Everything culminates in an armed attack by a group of men on a convent where a suite of women seen as undesirable live.

There are an enormous number of characters, but we don't really get to know more than a few. About three-quarters of the book are flash-backs that contain other flash-backs, and the story goes (mostly) backwards, instead of forwards, which is very frustrating, because it seems like a very good story.

There is a lot of fluff and endless digressions in irrelevant directions. The prose, although extremely good, I sometimes felt it was too heavy, and the narration is often circumlocutory (i.e. it uses an enormous number of words to convey something simple). Probably the fact that it's the third part of a trilogy that I haven't read (although the story doesn't seem to have gaps, it's self-contained) doesn't help much either.

Hands down, her most "difficult" novel. It has over 100 characters, and its plot centers on the mysterious disappearances of three out of five bodies of women massacred at The Convent, an abandoned sanctuary and shelter.

Each chapter weaves back and forth from each woman's back story as to how and why they wound up in Ruby, Oklahoma, a town itself founded based on strict moral and religious laws by ultra conservative African American men. Mavis, Gigi, Seneca, Lone, Pallas, Save-Marie, and Consolata lead a cast of distinctly diverse women. All of them will somehow set the chain of events that will be the cause of their doom, as started by the novel's startling first sentence.

I revisited this book from 2009 when I first read it for a linguistics class in graduate school. Then, I had heavily agreed with the review that Michiko Kakutani had given the novel in 1997. I did not appreciate Morrison's didactic sentences and uneven chapters that delved from the mysterious and ethereal to extremely short and seemingly swift sentences that seemed like she lost focus in her writing.

Now, however, I actually appreciate the ambiguity in which she writes, which is now on par with some of her finest novels. This may be a divisive novel, but it will leave readers thinking deeply about the complex themes and characters Morrison has created. It makes one question the nature of morality, religion, and the consequences of our actions.

This book, in some ways, seems a little disjointed compared to her other works. It lacks the mathematical deliberate genius that was so prominent in those. However, the prose within it is more or less divine. The author has done a great job in realising the characters, although there are perhaps a few too many of them. The pacing of the story is a bit uneven at times. There are moments when it feels a bit rushed, and then others when it slows down a bit too much. But despite these flaws, it is still a really good book. It has a certain charm and吸引力 that keeps the reader engaged from start to finish. The story is interesting and the characters are well-developed, which makes it a worthwhile read.

Overall, while it may not be the author's best work, it is still a very good one that is sure to please fans of her writing.

Toni Morrison's 'Paradise' is a complex and thought-provoking novel.

From numerous perspectives, Morrison reconstructs the social and religious motives of the inhabitants of Ruby, which led to the act of violence described at the start. She does this eloquently, with a touch of mystery and poetry.

The novel demands a great deal of concentration from the reader, as the fragmented narrative requires one to seek the connections on their own.

There are many characters, each playing a more or less significant role, and the main 'character' is not a person but rather the abstraction behind the tension caused by female independence outside the patriarchal framework.

Many aspects of the novel's motives can be discussed, such as the desire to be free from white legislation and the question of whether a small society can survive when enforcing its own values.

Grasping the depth of the novel was a challenge for me, yet I recognized its message and literary quality.

It took me over two months to finish, partly due to the novel's complexity, partly because other easier reads distracted me, and partly because my mother, who has dementia, required more of my time and attention.

The numerous telephone calls during the last couple of months also didn't help with concentrated reading. However, my siblings and I worked together to reassure our mother.

As a result, the number of books I've read in 2017 is relatively low.