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The Bluest Eye  By  cover art

The Bluest Eye

By: Toni Morrison
Narrated by: Toni Morrison, Ruby Dee
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Editorial reviews

Why we think it's Essential: The only thing better than hearing Ruby Dee give voice to this heartbreaking first novel by Toni Morrison, is to hear the author herself exchange lines of dialogue with the veteran actress and narrate key passages. Although the journey I took with Pecola (the main character) through this novel was difficult, it was also important—something I'll never forget. – Corey Thrasher

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner—a powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity that asks questions about race, class, and gender with characteristic subtly and grace.

In Morrison’s acclaimed first novel, Pecola Breedlove—an 11-year-old Black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others—prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment.

Here, Morrison’s writing is “so precise, so faithful to speech and so charged with pain and wonder that the novel becomes poetry” (The New York Times).

©1970 Toni Morrison (P)1994 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A PARADE BEST BOOK OF ALL TIME

A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK!

“So precise, so faithful to speech and so charged with pain and wonder that the novel becomes poetry.” The New York Times

“A profoundly successful work of fiction. . . . Taut and understated, harsh in its detachment, sympathetic in its truth . . . it is an experience.”The Detroit Free Press

“This story commands attention, for it contains one black girl’s universe.” Newsweek

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What listeners say about The Bluest Eye

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Frustrating...

I love the fact that Toni Morrison and Ruby Dee read The Bluest Eye. They are wonderful, and, I will admit that I should have known better; it is ABRIDGED. But, I am really frustrated right now because I am reading the book in preparation for the High School Senior English classes I will be teaching this fall. I have tracked the sections of the book missing from the tape, and already, so far, on pages 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, there are sentences, and in fact whole pages, missing in this abridged reading. So, if you don't mind missing out on a lot of the book, go for it; but as for me, it is just so frustrating, and I'm not going to be able to use it for my purposes...
just so you know.

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30 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Terrible Abridgement

While the pieces that are there are great. The abridged version has missing pieces that are elemental to having a full grasp of the beauty of this important book.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thought provoking and haunting novella

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Highly recommend this book for someone looking to be challenged by the material and themes and who is open to the humanity of the story

What did you like best about this story?

Morrisons ideas on beauty and virtue

Have you listened to any of Toni Morrison and Ruby Dee ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

My first Morrison and Ruby Dee book but will not be my last

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No but as I was drawn into the story it became impossible to not finish

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Read Beautifully!

If you could sum up The Bluest Eye in three words, what would they be?

Beautiful, Tragic, Sad

What does Toni Morrison and Ruby Dee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I really enjoyed listening to The Bluest Eye read by Toni Morrison and Ruby Dee. Both narrators read the story beautifully, they made the characters come ALIVE!

Any additional comments?

Awesome audio book!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

abridged version. Brings the greats back to life

Loved listening to them read. I'm going to buy the book for the parts missing.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Special reading from the author herself!

While this is not my favorite Toni Morrison book, there is something awfully special about getting to listen to an author read her own work for you. Morrison pours such heart and soul into her literature that I knew her reading would be heartfelt, and she did not disappoint.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • EV
  • 08-08-21

Great,!!!!!

Excellent. Story flowed. can t wait for the next book. I love her work!!!! she's my favorite.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Graphic but Real

Had to read for my paper. It got a little graphic at times but this was overall a good book about serious issues that were not talked about in a time like the 1940s.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Moving story

This book is a must read for those interested in African American literature. The ending has to be my favorite part because there is much to interpret what Morrison mean philosophically. I wish the entire book was included and it wasn’t shortened as there just be a reason why she included all parts in her original publication. Morrison paints a realistic story that is sad yet moving. The story is beautifully explained in the first couple of pages.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Everyone should listen

Would you consider the audio edition of The Bluest Eye to be better than the print version?

It is the same

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Bluest Eye?

Spoiler* At the end...we all realize that the result or the outcome or what that little girl became was because of other people. I cried.

What about Toni Morrison and Ruby Dee ’s performance did you like?

Just the perfect voices of both of them to bring the characters to life in my mind while listening to them.

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1 person found this helpful