Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Sula

This has been my favorite Toni Morrison read so far. The ending was absolutely heartbreaking, but at the same time was so beautifully done. The writing in this book was so captivating. Morrison is a master at tapping into strong emotions and writing with such specific detail. As with much of her work, there were many dark moments, however they were written with such a strange beauty that even in the heavier parts of the novel, it was hard to put down. I felt a deep fondness for Nel and Sula. I even managed to feel great sympathy for Sula though to the other characters in the novel she was revered with such strong hatred. I am looking forward to continuing to make my way through her works.

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moonpeach's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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lizziaha's review

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Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

Every perspective in this book flows into the next like water in a river—an unstoppable force. That being said, the one I wanted to linger with the most, the one I tried to swim upriver in, was Nel’s perspective. Maybe this is because Nel and Sula’s friendship was the most compelling part of this book. And Morrison agrees, if the final line of the book is any indication: “We was girls together.” There’s a particular kind of grief that Morrison writes about in this book that feels yawning, endless, undefinable. She manages to fit such a huge concept into so few words, I feel like I’ve been robbed of all the words that she should have needed. As I work my way through Morrison’s books, I fear I’m beginning to see a trend of being in awe of her writing, while not caring much for the plot. Two books aren’t really enough to say that definitively but I’m interested to see what I think about her other books.

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katkatniss's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

"A sleep deeper than the hospital drugs; deeper than the pits of plums, steadier than the condor's wing; more tranquil than the curve of eggs."

Finishing Sula is a mood. I have been emptied. I am dumbstruck, in awe, and lost, in the simplest and most beautiful way possible.

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eve81's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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jennswan's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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yliana's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

this book was amazing. i tried reading it in high school and a few chapters in, i gave up because i didn't understand what was going on T-T i genuinely think i was just too young at the time to read it because wow, it is so so good.

i don't know how to explain it but the way toni morrison weaves words together is jsut so beautiful. even during the worst, most painful scenes, her words brought a beauty to what was happening.

I can't say that i like sula as a character all that much. i found her lack of caring for nel when

she sleeps with nel's husband

to be the point where i stopped liking her. she just seemed to take no accountability but at the same time, let the woman have sexual freedom!! i don't agree with what she did in terms of nel and not necessarily her

sleeping with every husband in town, but it was stated that the wives also were having affairs and it takes two to fucking tango so the husbands were in the wrong too so i really can't be too mad at sula about that.

i actually really liked how we were given short backgrounds into other characters like shadrack. his story was so fucking heartbreaking, especially at the end of the book and i was really thinking he was gonna turn out to be the "villain of the story" ig and was not happy about that. i was happy, however, to see that he was allowed to just exist as a good guy that went through a lot of shit.

don't talk to me about Eva, though, i have a lot of feelings about her and they aren't positive.

my mom has loved toni morrison since she was in high school and i loved this book so i'm excited (also not though because I'm sure the rest of her books might be fairly depressing and sad too) to read all of her other books!

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h2bb's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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