There Is No Movie Version: A Review of Toni Morrison's Paradise
It is always time to re-read some Toni Morrison. Here are some highlights from her classic, Paradise.
Written by: Hadiya Presswood
The S- Word: Sisterhood. You know what I’m talking about if you’re a part of a group of powerful women. You know it’s not always easy or instant, but it’s the X-Factor that transforms and protects the group.
We can find Sisterhood and Authenticity in Morrison’s band of imperfect women, the central figures of the story. They are closely linked through their decision to fight their personal challenges in a way that’s reflective of their personalities, and in the way they take care of each other. The women live together in the Convent, on the outskirts of the all-Black town of Ruby, Oklahoma. Their existence upsets the town, already in the throes of self-destruction, and underscores the major source of conflict between the prominent families that settled it. The women have an alluring ability that simultaneously entices and repels the townspeople, and exposes the underbelly of a community governed by rigid colorism and prestige.
Beauty and the Struggle
Morrison writes complex characters with adjectives that bluntly describe them. They are sensitive and callous, witty and unintelligent, tender and cruel; we get to know them intimately. However, she introduces a lot of people. In addition to the main characters, we meet the people of their backstories, and the people with whom their stories overlap. This information is not necessarily essential to the plot, and can be a bit overwhelming as you read, but Morrison truly brings life to her characters in this way.
Ya Feel Me?
I like these women because they are unpolished. They don’t support each other perfectly all of the time, but they move together and protect each other with a type of love that is fierce and loyal. Behind closed doors, shit hits the fan, but they are undoubtedly a unit.
Jewels
“If ever there came a morning when mercy and simple good fortune took to their heels and fled, grace alone might have to do.”
“The night sky, like a handsome lid, held the perfume down, saving it, intensifying it, refusing it the slightest breeze on which to escape.”
“In that case, she thought, everything that worries them must come from women.”
“Fondling their weapons, feeling suddenly so young and good they are reminded that guns are more than decoration, intimidation or comfort. They are meant.”
