Paradise - Hardcover

Morrison, Toni

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0701160411 ISBN 13: 9780701160418

Publisher: Chatto & Windus, 1998

Synopsis

In this powerful novel - extraordinary for its breathtaking drive, stylistic pananche and more depth - four young women are brutally attacked in a convent near an all-black town in America in the mid-1970s. The inevitability of this attack, and the attempts to avert it , lie at the heart of Paradise. Spanning the birth of the Civil Rights movement, Vietnam, the counter culture and the politics of the late 70s, deftly manipulating past, present and future, this novel of mysterious motives reveals the interior lives of the citizens of the town with astonishing clarity. The drama of its people - from the four young women and their elderly protector, to conservative businessmen, rednecks, a Civil Rights minister and veterans of three wards - richly evokes clashes that have bedevilled American society: between race and racelessness; patriarchy and matriarchy; religion and magic; freedom and belonging; promiscuity and fidelity. . Magnificent in its scope, Paradise is a revelation - not only for the intensity of its portrayal of human complexity but for the sheer force of its narrative. It is without doubt Toni Morrison's masterpiece. (1997-07-28)

About this title

Review:

"They shoot the white girl first. With the rest they can take their time. No need to hurry out here. They are 17 miles from a town which has 90 miles between it and any other. Hiding places will be plentiful in the Convent, but there is time and the day has just begun." So begins Paradise, Toni Morrison's first novel since winning the Nobel Prize for literature in 1993. As one would expect from the author of such brilliantly imagined novels as Song of Solomon, Beloved and Jazz, Morrison's Paradise is ambitious, political, deeply spiritual and peopled with characters as complex as they are unforgettable. Time is fluid in the universe of this particular novel; though set in 1976, Morrison travels easily between eras, taking the reader back in time to the founding of Ruby, an all-black township in Oklahoma, at the end of World War II, then further back to the establishment of its predecessor, Haven, which parallels the story of Exodus: a band of former slaves wanders the Oklahoma territory in search of a homeland. Overlying the strong sense of character and place that imbues each page is a touch of the supernatural--ghost children skitter through the halls of an abandoned Catholic girl's school and "unseen friends" visit lonely women by night.

Even as Morrison deftly limns the history of the town and its inhabitants, she lays the foundation for the conflict brewing in the present-day story: A new minister has come to town, bringing with him a whiff of the politics that engulfed that era--civil rights, student uprisings, rioting in the streets--activities which speak to the restlessness of the town's youth. Meanwhile, 17 miles away at the former girls' school nicknamed "the Convent," a small group of unconventional women have moved in. Their stories, told in individual chapters bearing their names, are also stories of exile, exodus and eventual homecoming. For the men of Ruby, however, these women represent everything that is dangerous about the outside world and as the sanctity of Ruby's traditions begin to crumble, nine men go on a deadly hunt.

As always, Morrison is not afraid to explore the relations between the races or the genders and she is particularly adept at creating characters who, though frequently not likable, are always sympathetic. Paradise is a book you'll want to read more than once and each time you'll find something new to haunt and amaze you. -- Amazon.com

Review:

Morrison has brought it all together: the poetry, the emotion, the broad symbolic plan. "The New York Times Book Review"
Stunning. . . . Morrison at her novelistic best. "The New Yorker"
Morrison dazzles. "The Nation"
A fascinating story, wonderfully detailed. . . . The town is the stage for a profound and provocative debate. "Los Angeles Times"
""
Morrison [is] a master storyteller. . . . She is at the height of her imaginative powers. "New York Daily News"
Everything is resonant here: the most casual gestures are informed by the facts and myths of genders and race, by our notions of civilization and lawlessness, body and spirit, Christianity and witchcraft. Morrison s lyrical prose displays great confidence in her readers intelligence, demands their unflagging attention, and rewards them generously with a memorable work of epic range and monumental ambition. "People
"
Toni Morrison is an extraordinarily good writer. Two pages into anything she writes one feels the power of her language and the emotional authority behind that language. "The Village Voice
"
Morrison is at the top of her form. . . . Impressive, eloquent, and powerfully imagined. "The Baltimore Sun
"
Morrison is a terrific storyteller. . . . Her writing evokes the joyful richness of life. "Newsday
"
A breathtaking, risk-taking major work that will have readers feverishly, and fearfully turning the pages. "Kirkus Reviews
"
[A] triumph. . . . The individual stories of both the women and the townspeople reveal Morrison at her best. "Publishers Weekly" (starred)"

-Morrison has brought it all together: the poetry, the emotion, the broad symbolic plan.- --The New York Times Book Review
-Stunning. . . . Morrison at her novelistic best.- --The New Yorker
-Morrison dazzles.- --The Nation
-A fascinating story, wonderfully detailed. . . . The town is the stage for a profound and provocative debate.- --Los Angeles Times

-Morrison [is] a master storyteller. . . . She is at the height of her imaginative powers.- --New York Daily News
-Everything is resonant here: the most casual gestures are informed by the facts and myths of genders and race, by our notions of civilization and lawlessness, body and spirit, Christianity and witchcraft. Morrison's lyrical prose displays great confidence in her readers' intelligence, demands their unflagging attention, and rewards them generously--with a memorable work of epic range and monumental ambition.- --People

-Toni Morrison is an extraordinarily good writer. Two pages into anything she writes one feels the power of her language and the emotional authority behind that language.- --The Village Voice

-Morrison is at the top of her form. . . . Impressive, eloquent, and powerfully imagined.- --The Baltimore Sun

-Morrison is a terrific storyteller. . . . Her writing evokes the joyful richness of life.- --Newsday

-A breathtaking, risk-taking major work that will have readers feverishly, and fearfully turning the pages.- --Kirkus Reviews

-[A] triumph. . . . The individual stories of both the women and the townspeople reveal Morrison at her best.- --Publishers Weekly (starred)

"Morrison has brought it all together: the poetry, the emotion, the broad symbolic plan." --The New York Times Book Review

"Stunning. . . . Morrison at her novelistic best." --The New Yorker

"Morrison dazzles." --The Nation

"A fascinating story, wonderfully detailed. . . . The town is the stage for a profound and provocative debate." --Los Angeles Times

"Morrison [is] a master storyteller. . . . She is at the height of her imaginative powers." --New York Daily News

"Everything is resonant here: the most casual gestures are informed by the facts and myths of genders and race, by our notions of civilization and lawlessness, body and spirit, Christianity and witchcraft. Morrison's lyrical prose displays great confidence in her readers' intelligence, demands their unflagging attention, and rewards them generously--with a memorable work of epic range and monumental ambition." --People

"Toni Morrison is an extraordinarily good writer. Two pages into anything she writes one feels the power of her language and the emotional authority behind that language." --The Village Voice

"Morrison is at the top of her form. . . . Impressive, eloquent, and powerfully imagined." --The Baltimore Sun

"Morrison is a terrific storyteller. . . . Her writing evokes the joyful richness of life." --Newsday

"A breathtaking, risk-taking major work that will have readers feverishly, and fearfully turning the pages." --Kirkus Reviews

"[A] triumph. . . . The individual stories of both the women and the townspeople reveal Morrison at her best." --Publishers Weekly (starred)

About this edition

• Publisher: Chatto & Windus
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0701160411
• ISBN 13: 9780701160418
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336