The Bluest Eye

Abridged
Author: Toni Morrison
Narrator: Toni Morrison , Ruby Dee
Genres: Fiction, Literature
Publisher: Random House (Audio)
Date: April 2000
Length: 3 hours
Ratings:
  • Book Rating: 3/5
Formats:
  • CD
  • iPod

Overview

The Bluest Eye, published in 1970, is the first novel written by Toni Morrison, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature.

It is the story of eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove--a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others--who prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning and the tragedy of its fulfillment.

Reviews (17)

the bluest eye

Written by Elizabeth Manuge from South Ohio RR 1, NS on October 19th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

i love the voice of the reader of this book. its so soft and absolutely beguiling, a pleasure to listen to. the story is well told, sad but true, of the life of black people, especially children, in the southern states. its hard to say more about that, all of it having been said so many times. this story tears at your heart for the little black girl who wanted blue eyes. its hard to listen to for pleasure, one has to feel pain. i usually want a more relaxing story at the end of my day but this one is riveting.

The Blues Eye

Written by Anonymous on September 20th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 3/5

This story is sad but an eye opener. I am glad I listened to it.

The Bluest Eye

Written by Anonymous on April 19th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

This was a very sad story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book although very different from the ones I normally choose. It was very enjoyable. I would highly recommend it. It is fairly short.

Not What You Think

Written by Anonymous from Magnolia, TX on April 9th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I was a bit caught by surprise with this one. It was a good combination of the time period and the plot. I wasn't expecting it. It was very, very good.

Bluest Eye

Written by Lexis on November 27th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 4/5

Really enjoyed this book. Gave me a different perspective.

Bluest Eye

Written by Anonymous on July 11th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 5/5

Poignant, disturbing, truthful, amazing.....the best book I've read in years. It will stick with me forever. Please read this, you won't regret it.

Bluest Eye

Written by Anonymous from Palmetto, GA on March 3rd, 2006

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I love listening to books that are of this era.... but this story was intriguing. This one is a must buy.

Bluest Eye

Written by Lucy on January 2nd, 2006

  • Book Rating: 4/5

As the varied reviews of this book demonstrate, this story is a good example of how our perceptions affect every facet of our lives. Very insightful and thought-provoking. The narrators did an excellent job in bringing the characters to life, and getting across the mood of the events in this story. Well worth a listen.

Bluest Eye Unabridged

Written by Anonymous on November 11th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 4/5

My first experience with audio books. A very interesting story and I didn't want to get out of my car. She is a very talented story teller as well. This story gives a very vivid snapshot of life of the children during that time and how hard life was and how the smallest things in their mind they felt would make a difference.

Yuck!

Written by Anonymous on November 10th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 1/5

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to listen to this book. I turned it off after one minute. The reader is AWFUL! She makes this sticky spitty sound when she talks and it's like nails on a chalk board to me. Gross gross gross. Maybe this doesn't bother other people but I think that a narrator in an audio book should be clear and pleasent to listen to. What a shame because it seems like such a good story.

Author Details

Author Details

Morrison, Toni

"Born Chloe Anthony Wofford, in 1931 in Lorain (Ohio), the second of four children in a black working-class family. Displayed an early interest in literature. Studied humanities at Howard and Cornell Universities, followed by an academic career at Texas Southern University, Howard University, Yale, and since 1989, a chair at Princeton University. She has also worked as an editor for Random House, a critic, and given numerous public lectures, specializing in African-American literature. She made her debut as a novelist in 1970, soon gaining the attention of both critics and a wider audience for her epic power, unerring ear for dialogue, and her poetically-charged and richly-expressive depictions of Black America. A member since 1981 of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she has been awarded a number of literary distinctions, among them the Pulitzer Prize in 1988."