Paradise - Hardcover

Morrison, Toni

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0676770428 ISBN 13: 9780676770421

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997

Synopsis

"Rumors had been whispered for more than a year. Outrages that had been accumulating all along took shape as evidence. A mother was knocked down the stairs by her cold-eyed daughter. Four damaged infants were born in one family. Daughters refused to get out of bed. Brides disappeared on their honeymoons. Two brothers shot each other on New Year's Day. Trips to Demby for VD shots common. And what went on at the Oven these days was not to be believed . The proof they had been collecting since the terrible discovery in the spring could not be denied: the one thing that connected all these catastrophes was in the Convent. And in the Convent were those women." In Paradise, her first novel since she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, Toni Morrison gives us a bravura performance. As the book begins deep in Oklahoma early one morning in 1976, nine men from Ruby (pop. 360), in defense of "the one all-black town worth the pain," ault the nearby Convent and the women in it. From the town's ancestral origins in 1890 to the fateful day of the ault, Paradise tells the story of a people ever mindful of the relation between their spectacular history and a void "Out There, where random and organized evil erupted when and where it chose." Richly imagined and elegantly composed, Paradise weaves a powerful mystery.

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)

Edition details

• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0676770428
• ISBN 13: 9780676770421
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 6
• Number of pages: 318