Banned Book Club, “The Bluest Eye”

Event is hosted at a private residence. Please register on Mobilize (https://mobilize.us/s/URVld1) for address.

Join the Paulding County Democrats for the monthly meeting of our Banned Book Club. We have expanded the definition of our club to include political books. Let’s explore the stories challenged and understand the importance of freedom of expression.

Our January book selection is “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison.

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.

Since its publication, the book has consistently landed on the American Library Association’s list of most challenged books. Reasons cited have included, “sexually explicit material,” “lots of graphic descriptions and lots of disturbing language,” and “an underlying socialist-communist agenda.”

The Bluest Eye remains one of Toni Morrison’s most powerful, unforgettable novels—and a significant work of American fiction.

Please, read the book before the meeting.

Coffee and soft drinks will be provided. Please bring a snack to share.

Let’s stand together for the freedom to read and share ideas!