Sula by Toni Morrison

Sula by Toni Morrison
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Morrison writes to shock the reader in describing the everyday lives of early twentieth century ethnic minority people. From the start, the book makes it clear of how there are two peoples residing within the same town and of their societal differences. Her vulgar descriptions from public conveniences to the murder of Plum shows how everyone is forced to accept their differences without question or prejudice. Shadrack’s comical invention of National Suicide Day clearly shows that her characters struggle to react to change. We are only made aware of Sula’s fear of Eva after her exile; very little is revealed of Eva’s mistreatment of Sula during her childhood. If Sula was written in the first person, it would be a lot easier to understand her. But writing in the third person allows Morrison to comment on her other characters as they were some kind of societal freak show, and allow them to act so outrageously.

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