I'm deeply grateful to Rowena for inviting me to be part of The Year of Reading Toni Morrison group. This invitation has truly spurred me to read this work now.

It's one of Toni Morrison's shorter pieces. In her brief introduction to this edition, she highlights its uniqueness. It has a friendly and comfortable opening that aims to orient the outsider, perhaps a white reader.

The story explores various themes. One such theme is the friendship between two girls, Nel and Sula, who come from families with extraordinary women as their foremothers. Nel's mother, Helene, is conservative and has escaped from her own mother, a sex worker. Sula's mother and grandmother, on the other hand, are accepted by the community but criticized for their promiscuity.

Nel only finds the courage to befriend Sula after a significant event in her life. A train journey with her mother to see her ailing grandmother leads to a moment of self-discovery for Nel. This journey is filled with important scenes, like when Helene smiles nervously at a degrading white conductor, which humiliates both her and Nel and earns the disgust of other black passengers.

In Sula's family, 'loving men' is the norm. However, the nature of this love and the relationships within the family are complex. Sula feels rejected by her mother, Hannah, and the narrative's casual tone reflects the community's attitude towards them.

One aspect of the story that stood out to me was a marriage made for seemingly appalling reasons. A man marries to affirm his masculinity in the face of a company's refusal to hire black workers. Surprisingly, the marriage turns out to be a modest success. This gave me an insight into the different expectations black people, especially women, might have had of marriage and relationships in that town compared to white women.

Verbal communication is scarce in the story, even between Nel and Sula. They often express their fears and emotions in non-verbal ways, like when they dig holes at the river bank and bury rubbish. However, this silence can also lead to misunderstandings and further hurt.

In the group's discussion of the book, one contributor suggested that Toni Morrison 'forces us to look at life unflinchingly with the hope we'll get it right before it's too late.' This comment made me wonder what the characters and the community could have done differently to make their stories less painful. It's a difficult question, but perhaps the breaking of silence could have made a difference.

Overall, reading this book has been a thought-provoking experience, and I'm looking forward to further discussions and explorations within the group.

Whew. This book is truly incredible. Toni exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement. The unique blend of humor and bleakness in this book is so distinctively Black. It's like a window into a world that is both familiar and yet full of surprises. These characters, they are so vivid and real. The rage that simmers beneath the surface of their lives is palpable, making you feel every emotion they experience. This book is major, major, major. The writing is superb, flowing smoothly from one page to the next, drawing you in and keeping you hooked until the very end. The story is equally captivating, filled with twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. It is all here, everything you could ever want in a book. Wow.

"We was girls together."

That simple phrase holds a world of memories and shared experiences. It takes us back to a time when life was simpler, and friendships were formed with ease.

We used to do everything together - play games, go to school, have sleepovers. We shared our secrets, our dreams, and our fears.

As the years passed, we grew apart, but that bond we had as girls remained. We may not see each other as often as we used to, but when we do, it's like no time has passed at all.

The memories of our time together as girls will always be with us, a reminder of a time when life was full of hope and possibilities.

And even though we may have taken different paths in life, we will always be connected by those shared memories and the fact that we were girls together.