Paradise

(ongoing)

I first came to Toni Morrison in the 5th grade. I chose ‘The Bluest Eye’ for a book report. I knew I was reading something meaningful,
as it made me sit with deep questions, themes my ten-year-old mind was just starting to turn over. It left a mark on me, but
instinctively, I knew that I couldn't engage with her other work until I was much older. ⁣
⁣
Out of all of her works, ‘Paradise’ is the one that I continue thinking about. The book is about broken, haunted women who find
a way to heal when given community and the space to process and exist. What happens when the town they live in symbiosis
with, the village of Ruby, turns on them, pouring all of their rage and frustration into the book's opening scene of cruelty. ⁣