This is a disturbing story. It is reminiscent of a case study—only it’s written with too great a poetic pen to be clinically descriptive or allow for a detachment of emotion. Here, Morrison requires us to engage our emotions. The writing conjures images, sensations, feelings, none of which are healthy or happy, but they make the reader evaluate the social construct of the definition of beauty. It’s not meant to be a healthy happy story. It’s a sad story, a vile story, a warning and an admonishment against him the evils of comparison and the damage that generations of racial degradation continues to propagate, to impose on this current generation, based on the elevation of beauty as measured by appearance, as defined by culturally narrow, egotistic perspectives. Morrison takes a whole novel to teach a lesson about self-respect, the pain and lasting destruction caused by racism and rejection (even self loathing), and the importance of loving, reasonable, two-way communicative adult intervention when children’s ideas are tainted and dangerous.

The writing is poetic, lyrical, but the content is wretched and depraved —with a purpose. It paints a picture of characters that feed and thrive off stereotypes and racism, accepting these as social norms, easily deceived and easily transmitted. It uses stereotypes to tell the story, and this deranged perspective is deranged, incorrect, harmful (read author’s note at the end of the book). It’s an amplified metaphorical prophecy, and like scripture, should be read to see the warning therein.

I feel like there’s a theme to some of my reading already this year: drawing out morals for reflection and application. This one’s—

Observe what the children are doing around you, hear what they are saying, tell every single one of them they are beautiful just as they are, and especially as they are, designed carefully and artistically in love…

This is always a hard story to’ like’ but it’s a worthwhile read by a stellar author.

3-likability (unpalatable content)

4-writing style

4–purpose